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OLD GLORY SERIES 


By EDWARD STRATEMEYER. 
Cloth Illustrated Per volume SI .25. 


UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA or The War 

Fortunes of a Castaway. 

A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA or Fight- 
ing for the Single Star. ( In Press.) 

FIGHTING IN CUBAN WATERS or The Haps 
and Mishaps of a Young Gunner. 

(In Press.) 


LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, 

BOSTON. 





What are you doing here, my Man ? Page 248 


©14 (Slot 4 *} Series 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Fighting for the Single Star 


BY 

EDWARD STRATEMEYER 

w 

AUTHOR OF “UNDER DEWEY AT MANILA” “ RICHARD DARE’S 
VENTURE ” “ OLIVER BRIGHT’S SEARCH ” “ THE LAST 
CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE ” “ REUBEN STONE’S 
DISCOVERY ” ETC. 



BOSTON 

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 

1898 


Copyright, 1898, by Lee and Shepard. 


All Bights Reserved. 


A Young Volunteer in Cuba. 





i-i „ 



J. S. Cushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
Norwood Mass. U.8.A. 

b V 


Q eit tV- o 


PREFACE 


“A Young Volunteer in Cuba,” although a 
complete story in itself, forms the second volume of 
I the “ Old Glory Series,” a line of works embracing 
i scenes and incidents of our war with Spain. 

In the first volume of the series, the author told 
of the daring adventures of Larry Russell while 
fighting under Dewey at Manila. In the present 
book is followed the equally daring adventures of 
Ben Russell, Larry’s older brother, who, joining the 
volunteers from New York State, is mustered into 
the United States army and sent by transport to 
Cuba, there to participate in that hazardous cam- 
paign which ended in the fall of Santiago and was 
one of the direct means of bringing hostilities to a 
speedy termination. 

It may be possible that Ben’s bravery has been 
overdrawn ; yet, if the narratives of scores of 
soldiers who took part in the invasion of Cuba are 
to be believed, the sturdy youth’s gallantry was no 


IV 


PREFACE 


greater than that of many others who shed their 
blood for liberty and humanity. The young volun- 
teer went into the contest convinced that the cause 
was just, and that a Divine Providence would not 
let a just cause fail ; consequently he was confident 
of success, and “confidence is half the battle.” 

Regarding the historical portions of the book, the 
author would state that they have been drawn from 
the very latest and best reports, including those sub- 
mitted by Major-Generals Shatter and Wheeler, 
Colonel Wood of the Rough Riders, and of a num- 
ber of others standing high in military authority ; 
and these reports have been supplemented by the 
countless personal narratives of men who went to 
the front, saw, suffered, fought, and conquered. The 
scenes in the state camp, previous to the departure 
for the South, are largely such as came under the 
author’s own observation. 

EDWARD STRATEMEYER. 

Newark, N.J., 

November 1, 1898. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Ben reaches a Determination 1 

II. An Unexpected Meeting .... 12 

III. Job Dowling speaks his Mind ... 22 

IY. The Drilling at the Armory ... 33 

Y. Ben gains a Point 43 

YI. Something about Affairs in Cuba . . 53 

YII. Ben joins the Militia 63 

YIII. Off for Camp Black 76 

IX. A Week of Discomfort 86 

X. In which Ben is mustered into the United 

States Service 96 

XI. Bound for the South 107 

XII. A Rescue, and what followed . . . 117 

XIII. To Tampa by Rail 127 

XIY. Among the Pines of Florida . . . 137 

XY. An Unpleasant Experience .... 146 

XYI. Off for Cuba at last 156 

XYII. The Landing at Baiquiri .... 166 
XVIII. An Encounter on the Trail . . *. 175 


v 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XIX. Among the Insurgents .... 184 

XX. A Timely Shot . . . . . . 194 

XXI. Prisoners Three 204 

XXII. The Escape from the Spanish Camp . 213 

XXIII. Caught in a Tropical Storm . . . 223 

XXIV. The Skirmish at the Rancho . . . 233 

XXY. The Leader of the Rough Riders . . 243 

XXYI. An Advance all along the Line . . 252 

XXYII. The Taking of El Caney .... 261 
XXVIII. The Battle of San Juan .... 272 

XXIX. Ben wins his Shoulder Straps . . . 284 

XXX. “ On to Santiago ! ” — Conclusion . . 293 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

“ 4 What are you doing here, my man ? ”’ . Frontispiece 248 

“ In a twinkle Ben leaped in ” 38 

44 It was a royal send-off ” 81 

44 The German dropped into the waters of New York 

harbor” 116 

“ 4 You shell out, and be precious quick about it . . 153 

44 Ben raised his gun ” 197 

44 Ben ran to the doorway ” 236 


44 A Spaniard was in the act of running him through ” . 287 

vii 






A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


CHAPTER I 

BEN REACHES A DETERMINATION 

“Then you have decided, Mr. Snodgrass, that 
you will not go into business in New York again?” 

“ That’s it, Ben. I have found competition in the 
hardware trade too keen here, and now that this fire 
has wiped out the store and its entire contents, I 
shall wait until I can adjust matters with the insur- 
ance companies and then return to Buffalo and open 
again at the old stand.” 

“I’m sorry to hear this, sir. It will throw me 
out of a situation.” 

“ That is true, Ben, and I am sorry too. If you 
cared to return to Buffalo with me, I would will- 
ingly give you an opening there, for you have proved 
yourself a first-rate clerk since you have been with 
me. But I suppose you don’t care to go back, do 
you?” 

Ben Russell shook his head decidedly, and a some- 
l 


2 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


what bitter look crossed his frank and manly face. 
“No, sir, I don’t want to get within a hundred miles 
of Mr. Job Dowling,” he answered. “ He’s the mean- 
est guardian any one ever had, and he treated Larry, 
Walter and me most shamefully, as you know. If 
I went back, he would compel me to live with him 
and that awful Irishwoman, Mrs. Rafferty, whose 
cooking wasn’t fit for a dog to eat, and I don’t 
know but that he might have me arrested for run- 
ning away.” 

“Your guardian is certainly a peculiar man, — 
very miserly, if I may use the term. Didn’t you 
tell me that there is a matter of fifteen thousand 
dollars in the bank coming to you three boys ? ” 

“ Yes ; Uncle Job has it safely invested. But he 
thinks money is only to save, not to spend. He 
would live on a dry crust rather than break a dollar 
bill to buy a loaf of bread.” 

“Then his Irish housekeeper can’t be altogether 
to blame for the cooking,” smiled Richard Snod- 
grass. “ But it is a shame to grind you and your 
two brothers down in this fashion, when your mother 
left you so well off. I don’t know but that you 
might apply to the court for relief.” 

“ I’ve been thinking of that ; but Larry, W alter, 


BEN REACHES A DETERMINATION 


3 


and I are separated now, and it would cause a lot 
of trouble. I would just as lief make my own way 
until we are all of age.” 

“ Have you written to your guardian lately ?” 

“ I wrote two weeks ago, telling him I was doing 
fairly well, and adding that if he wished to write 
to me he could address the letter to the general post- 
office ; for I don’t want him to find out just where I 
am. I haven’t as yet received any reply.” 

“Probably he won’t answer. By the way, how 
are your two brothers getting on ? ” 

“Walter is in Boston, helping to tend a large 
news stand near one of the principal hotels. Larry 
drifted to San Francisco and from there to Hono- 
lulu in the Hawaiian Islands, and the last letter 
I received from him stated that he was going on a 
cruise to Hong Kong, China.” 

“ Larry is a rover and no mistake. Evidently he 
takes to the water.” 

“ Oh, he does. He was always out on the lake 
at home, along with Walter. I dare say he won’t 
come back until he has been completely around the 
world.” 

“It’s a wonder to me you boys did not stick 
together when you decided to leave home.” 


4 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“We hadn’t anytime to make plans, everything 
was done in such a rush. Walter and I did 
stick together until we got to Middletown, but 
then Walter boarded a train and I couldn’t make 
it, and I remained behind, to work four days in an 
auction store. When I reached New York I was 
pretty well used up, and if it hadn’t been for 
you — ” 

“ Yes, yes, Ben, I know the rest. But you have 
deserved all the help I have given you. If you are 
bound to remain in New York, I will give you the 
best of recommendations, and try to find some open- 
ing, too, before I leave. You — What is it, Pen- 
nington ? ” 

Richard Snodgrass broke off short, as a young 
man of twenty-four came up and touched him on 
the shoulder. The young man had dark hair, dark 
eyes, and a round, ruddy face, and was evidently of 
Southern blood. 

“I was going to inquire about the prospects for 
work,” said Gilbert Pennington, anxiously. “You 
know I can’t afford to remain idle long, Mr. Snod- 
grass. A needy bookkeeper like myself must keep 
right on laboring, fire or no fire.” 

“ Ben here was asking the same question, Pen- 


BEN REACHES A DETERMINATION 


5 


nington, and I can only answer you as I answered 
him. I am going to close up entirely in New York 
and go back to my old home in Buffalo.” 

“ Then the business won’t be taken up, even by 
other parties?” 

“No; the store to be built has already been 
leased to a dry goods firm from across the way.” 

“ Then I am out of it. It’s rather rough, in these 
times.” 

“ Have you looked elsewhere, as I suggested ? ” 

“ Yes, I have made a dozen inquiries. But trade 
is dull, and this trouble with Spain has made it 
worse, and no one wants any extra help.” 

“ Well, I’m sorry for both of you,” was all Richard 
Snodgrass could say ; and then he walked away, to 
attend to a dozen matters relative to the great 
conflagration which had laid his store and several 
others in the block in ruins. 

“Well, Gilbert, we’re out of it,” remarked Ben 
Russell, when he and the bookkeeper were left alone. 
“ I must admit I don’t know what to do next.” 

The young Southerner took off his hat, ran his 
fingers through his curly hair, and shook his head. 
“Yes, we’re out of it, and there is no telling when 
we’ll be in it again,” he returned with a sorry little 


6 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


laugh. “ When I struck Mr. Snodgrass’ place four 
months ago, I fancied myself in clover, and here I 
am, in a strange city, with no friend but yourself, 
and with only seventeen dollars in my pocket.” 

“You are exactly a dollar ahead of me,” smiled 
Ben. “Fortunately, my board is paid for a whole 
week in advance.” 

“ And mine is just about due — so we are nearly 
equal.” Gilbert Pennington smiled grimly. “Pm 
afraid we’re going to have a tough time of it,” he 
added in a lower voice. “ I didn’t want to speak to 
Snodgrass about it, but I’ve put two advertisements 
for a situation in the papers without a single reply, 
and I answered sixteen advertisements, with no 
better results.” 

“ And I answered eight advertisements and called 
at six business places that wanted help, without a 
smell of an opening. I’m afraid I’ll have to start 
up some business of my own,” concluded Ben. 

“A business of your own? What do you mean?” 

“Why, buy goods and sell them, on the streets 
or from house to house. I’d rather do that than 
starve. This Avar scare has caused a good demand 
for pictures of the battleship Maine that was blown 
up in Havana harbor. I’ve found out where the 


BEN REACHES A DETERMINATION 


7 


pictures can be bought down town for four dollars 
a hundred, and they sell for ten cents each. If a 
fellow could sell a hundred a day, he would clear 
six dollars.” 

Gilbert Pennington drew himself up. “I couldn’t 
lower myself to such work,” he said coldly. “ I’ll 
leave that to the Bowery rag-tags.” 

“It wouldn’t be very pleasant, but it’s honest 
enough, Gilbert. I believe in pitching in, if not at 
one thing then at another. It’s better than holding 
your hands and waiting.” 

“Oh, you’ve got lots of Yankee push, I can see 
that plainly enough,” was the laughing answer. 
“We Southerners are more reserved, you know. 
Where are you bound for now?” 

“ I’m going down to the general post-office, to see 
if there is any letter from that guardian of mine. 
After that I don’t know what I’ll do. Will you 
come along?” 

“ I don’t know but that it would be just as well. 
When we are down there we can take a look at the 
newspaper bulletin boards along Park Row. It 
amused me to watch the crowd devouring every 
scrap of so-called war news.” 

“ That shows how interested all Americans are in 


8 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


this affair between Cuba, Spain and ourselves. It 
seems to me matters look mighty serious since that 
Court of Inquiry decided that the Maine was blown 
up from the outside.” 

“ Do you really imagine there will be war? ” went 
on Gilbert Pennington, as the pair started off on a 
brisk walk down Broadway. “Why, the United 
States wouldn’t dare to go to war, for fear the 
Continental powers would interfere.” 

“We would dare do anything, if we felt we were 
in the right. But I think Spain will see where she 
has done wrong and will try to set matters straight. 
One thing is certain : Cuba ought to be free.” 

“ Oh, I agree with you there. Spanish cruelty 
in that ill-fated island . has been beyond all en- 
durance.” 

“ I suppose Spain has President McKinley’s ulti- 
matum by this time. There ought to be some news 
about how it was received. I rather guess Minister 
Woodford will have his hands full getting a satis- 
factory answer to it.” 

“ If there is war, it will upset things in the city 
completely, Ben.” 

“More than likely — although some things will 
boom, as for instance, the making of firearms, of 


BEN BEACHES A DETERMINATION 


9 


powder, of soldiers’ clothing, and the supplying of 
provisions, wagons and horses. A war would he a 
tremendous undertaking. I don’t wonder that those 
at the head of the government are inclined to move 
slowly, in spite of the slurs cast at them by some of 
the hot-headed newspapers. It’s a great responsi- 
bility.” 

“ Yes, and think of the lives that might be lost,” 
returned Gilbert, as the two friends reached the 
upper end of City Hall Park and turned towards 
what is familiarly called Newspaper Row. “By 
Jove ! what a crowd of people around the bulletin 
boards ! I wonder if any extra news has been 
received.” 

“We’ll go over — I can go into the post-office 
later,” cried Ben, even more anxious than his friend. 
“ Hear, some of them are shouting. There goes a 
new bulletin up. Gracious me, what’s that ? 4 Our 

Fleet Sails for Havana! ! ! The Warships at Key 
West Have Left for Cuba ! ! Troops Will Act with 
the Navy as soon as the Army can be Concentrated ! 
A Call for Volunteers Likely ! ’ If that doesn’t 
mean war, then I don’t know anything. Come on, 
Gilbert, let us get where we can read the details.” 
And away rushed Ben into the midst of the surging 


10 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


and shouting mass of people with his friend at his 
heels. Soon both were in a position to see all there 
was displayed, the several bulletins running some- 
what after this fashion : — 

Diplomatic negotiations between this country and 
Spain are at an end. The Spanish minister at Washing- 
ton has taken his passports. Our own minister at Ma- 
drid will return home at once. Spain will not even 
answer our ultimatum. 

Nearly all of the warships lying at Key West have 
secretly sailed for Havana or other points in Cuba. The 
whereabouts of the Flying Squadron under Commodore 
Schley is at present unknown, but it is thought the 
squadron is lying in wait for any Spanish fleet which 
may be on its way to our shores. 

The regular army will probably concentrate at some 
point in Florida. A call on the various states for volun- 
teers may come at any moment. Governors of many 
states are holding themselves in readiness to supply any 
demands made upon them for soldiers. The navy is 
recruiting with all possible speed. A clash of arms is 
inevitable. 

A great deal more followed, in a similar strain, 
telling of what was thought of the situation in Ma- 
drid and what Congress proposed to do. Ben read 
every word with intense interest, the crowd mean- 


BEN REACHES A DETERMINATION 


11 


while pushing him hither and thither and shouting 
itself hoarse. 

“ Hurrah for Uncle Sam ! Now we’ll show the 
Dons what we can do ! ” came from the lusty throat 
of a workman who carried his dinner pail upon his 
arm. “ If they want me for a soldier, they can have 
me.” 

“And they can have me, too,” put in a dapper 
clerk who stood beside the workman. “We’re all 
brothers in this thing, eh ? ” he added ; and the 
crowd gave a shout of approval. 

“I fought in the Civil War,” broke in a man 
standing by, dressed in a Grand Army suit, “ and 
I can fight again. Hurrah for Old Glory ! ” and 
the cheers were given with a will, Ben joining in 
as loudly as any one. Then of a sudden the youth 
turned to his friend. 

“Gilbert, I know what I’m going to do if the 
President calls for volunteers,” he said. “I’m going 
to enlist.” 


CHAPTER II 

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 

As has been intimated, Ben Russell was an 
orphan, who, at the untimely death of his beloved 
widowed mother, had been left, in company with 
his two younger brothers, Walter and Larry, to the 
care of a step-uncle, J ob Dowling. Ben was nearly 
nineteen years of age, tall, well-built, and with a 
make-up that was thoroughly manly. 

In a previous work in this series, entitled “ Under 
Dewey at Manila,” I related how the three boys 
had found life under their guardian’s roof unbear- 
able, and how, after numerous quarrels, each had 
fled to seek fortune as he might find it, — Ben 
drifting to New York; Walter, the next oldest, 
going to Boston ; and Larry, a lad of sixteen, travel- 
ling first to San Francisco, then shipping to Hono- 
lulu, and from there to Hong Kong. On the latter 
trip Larry was cast overboard, to be picked up later 
on by the Asiatic Squadron of the United States 


12 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 


18 


Navy, under Commodore Dewey, and to become a 
participant' in one of the greatest naval battles of 
modern history. 

When Ben reached New York, as he had written 
to Larry in a letter received at Honolulu by that 
young sailor, he had tramped around for three days 
looking for employment, but without success. He 
was at his wit’s end as to what to do, when, on 
walking along Broadway, he chanced to fall in with 
Mr. Snodgrass, who had several years before con- 
ducted a hardware business in Buffalo, the youth’s 
native place. Ben knew the merchant fairly well ; 
a lengthy conversation ensued, and the youth had 
been engaged as a clerk in Mr. Snodgrass’ estab- 
lishment on Canal Street, at a salary of six dollars 
per week. 

At the hardware store Ben became intimate with 
Gilbert Pennington, the bookkeeper. Gilbert was 
from Richmond, Virginia, and was without a rela- 
tive and scarcely a friend. The young man had 
secured a room for Ben at his own boarding-house 
up in Harlem, and soon the pair were as intimate as 
brothers. 

For a short while matters had run along very 
well ; and during this time Ben sent several letters 


14 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


to Walter and Larry. Then, urged by Gilbert, he 
wrote to his guardian, stating that he was doing 
fairly well, and that Mr. Dowling need not worry 
about him. “Not that I think he will worry,” he 
said, “ but he ought to know that I am still in the 
land of the living.” Although he did not say so, 
he awaited his step-uncle’s reply with much interest. 
Would the man storm and* threaten, would he try 
coaxing, or would he prove indifferent to the stand 
the boys had assumed? 

Wide-awake, and with a strong desire to visit the 
various points of interest in and about New York, 
Ben was already planning how best to spend his 
summer half-holidaj^s, when a fierce fire, starting in 
a chemical warehouse adjoining Mr. Snodgrass’ store, 
laid half the square in ruins, and threw every one 
connected with the business out of employment. 
The fire had raged at night, and it was not until 
the following morning, when they came down on 
the elevated train to go to work, that Ben and his 
friend learned of the condition of affairs. 

For several days all had been in confusion, and 
during that time Ben had done what little he could 
towards straightening out several minor matters 
connected with the concern. In the meanwhile it 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 


15 


was whispered about that Mr. Snodgrass would 
not resume, and the youth and Pennington began 
looking around elsewhere for work. But as the 
young Southerner had said, the cloud of war which 
was showing itself on the horizon of our country, 
depressed still further an already dull state of trade, 
and no opening was to be found. 

Ben Russell was patriotic to the core, and from the 
very start had taken a deep interest in the strug- 
gles of the people of Cuba to throw off the yoke 
of Spanish tyranny and oppression. Like many 
others he believed that the United States should 
send food to the thousands who were starving in 
the war-torn island, regardless of the fact that 
Spain might consider this an act to aid the rebels, 
or insurgents. “To let the helpless women, chil- 
dren and old men starve just because the others 
are waging a war for liberty is barbarous,” he said 
to Gilbert. “I don’t believe President McKinley, 
Congress, or anybody else will stand it. Spain 
has been trying for three years now to quell the 
rebellion, and the best thing she can do is to let 
up on Cuba and allow the people there to govern 
themselves.” 

“It’s a great state of affairs down there,” was 


16 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


the answer of the young man, who, it may as well 
be stated here, had spent a year of his life in 
Havana and in Santiago de Cuba previous to try- 
ing his fortunes in New York. “Why, a Chinaman 
would never stand being taxed as the Cubans are 
taxed. And the worst of it is that every officer 
of the government is somebody sent to Cuba from 
Spain. Even the judges are Spanish, and when 
a dispute arises between a Cuban and a Spaniard, 
and the case is taken into court, the Spaniard, of 
course, gets the better of it.” 

In one of his letters to his brother Larry, Ben 
had mentioned that if the trouble with Spain should 
lead to war he would probably drop his position 
and turn soldier. This line had been somewhat 
thoughtlessly written, yet as the youth remembered 
it afterward he did not feel inclined to reverse 
his opinion. An earnest reader, he had perused 
many historical works pertaining to the War of the 
Revolution, to 1812, to the conflict with Mexico, and 
to the great rebellion, as well as biographies relating 
the daring deeds of Washington, La Fayette, Scott, 
Grant, Lee, and a score of other heroes, and more 
than once he had pictured himself as a boy in 
blue, struggling for fame upon the battlefield. 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 


IT 


This picture was always highly colored; he was 
yet to learn that war is a grim thing, far from rosy. 

“ You’re going to enlist ? ” queried Gilbert Pen- 
nington, as Ben repeated his declaration. 

“Yes, I’m going to enlist — if Uncle Sam re- 
quires my services.” 

“ Good for you, my boy ! ” put in the Grand 
Army man standing near. “1 was just about 
your age when I enlisted under General McClellan 
and fought on the Peninsula with him, and under 
Grant in Virginia, too. Do you see that scar ? ” 
— throwing back the sleeve of his coat and point- 
ing to his wrist. “ I got that at Malvern Hill, 
when the rebels made their last attack. It was a 
hot time, but we beat them back, and got away 
in safety. I’ll go to Cuba too, if I’m not too 
old for the service, and I reckon a lot of those 
Confederates we fought against will go too.” 

“ Sure they will ! ” cried another man standing 
by. “What’s the matter with General Fitzhugh 
Lee ? ” And the crowd hurrahed again, for Fitz- 
hugh Lee had done heroic work as the United 
States Consul at Havana, and this man was closely 
related to Robert E. Lee, the former Confederate 
army leader. It was plain to see that sectionalism 


18 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


was a thing of the past and that in the future 
north and south, east and west, would stand 
shoulder to shoulder against the common enemy of 
the glorious Union. 

“ I declare, you’ll make me feel like enlisting,” 
remarked Gilbert, as he smiled at the enthusiasm 
over the mentioning of the name of Lee — a name 
dear to every Southern heart. 

“ And why shouldn’t you enlist, sir ? ” demanded 
the Grand Army man, who was gradually gather- 
ing a crowd more closely around him by his 
remarks. “ Won’t the cause be worthy enough?” 
And then the crowd shifted, and Ben and Gilbert 
found themselves shoved upon the outskirts, close 
to the City Hall. 

“ I think they could get five thousand volunteers 
here in five minutes if they wanted them,” observed 
Ben. “ If the Spaniards could see this scene, perhaps 
they would be more careful of what they are doing.” 

“ I dare say you will find just as much enthusi- 
asm in Madrid, Ben. Spaniards are as loyal to 
their mother country as we are to the States.” 

“ But they ought to know they cannot fight suc- 
cessfully against such a country as this.” 

“ The common people are kept in ignorance of 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 


19 


the true condition of affairs. There is not a free 
press as there is here. Editors are allowed to 
print only that which has passed the press censor. 
Perhaps those in authority would like to grant the 
United States their demands, but they do not dare, 
for fear the common people will revolt and over- 
throw them. The peasantry of Spain know only 
that which has been told to them, — only a small 
proportion of them can read and write, — and they 
believe their country to be still one of the most 
powerful of nations. If their queen should give 
in to us, they would cry out that they had been 
betrayed.” 

“ I wonder where our warships are going and 
what they will do ? ” 

“ For the present I believe they will merely 
blockade Havana and other ports. It would do no 
good to bombard Havana without an army of inva- 
sion to complete a conquest, for General Blanco 
is stationed in the city with a large portion of the 
Spanish army. I take it a blockade will be main- 
tained until the army can be placed on a war foot- 
ing, as soldiers put it.” 

“ I declare, Gilbert, you ought to be a soldier ; 
you talk as if you knew something of the business.” 


20 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


The young Southerner blushed. “I did think 
very seriously once of going into the army, Ben, 
and I read up accordingly. But I went into trade 
instead, and knocked around Richmond and At- 
lanta, and then went over to Jamaica, Santiago 
de Cuba, Havana, and finally came to New York.” 

“You’ve seen a good bit of the world,” was 
Ben’s comment, as he led the way through the 
park to the post-office building. “ You must know 
a good deal about Havana.” 

“Not very much, for I remained there only a 
few weeks. The largest portion of my stay in 
Cuba was in and around Santiago, where I kept 
books for an iron company. But Havana, so far 
as stores and dwellings go, is not much different 
from Santiago, and the streets are just .as narrow 
and dirty.” 

“ I’ve been told .they have summer there all the 
year around.” 

“ That is true, although there is a rainy season 
worse than our winter. On account of the heat, 
none of the windows have glass in them, but are 
barred or grated instead to keep out intruders, and 
all are built with deep casements, so that only a 
very driving rain can get inside.” 


AN UNEXPECTED MEETING 


21 


“That must look odd.” 

“ One soon gets used to it, just as one gets used 
to the canvas-bottomed beds and the houses of only 
two stories, with a garden in the centre of the 
stone pile, a stable closely connected, and every- 
body, from the master down to the stable boy and 
the chicken peddler, using the front door,” con- 
cluded Gilbert, as the two entered the post-office. 

Ben had been down to the general delivery win- 
dow before, and consequently knew exactly where 
to go. As it was in the dullest part of the after- 
noon, the post-office was almost deserted, and he 
had no difficulty in getting waited on. 

“No letter for Benjamin A. Russell,” said the 
clerk, after looking over a box marked BUS. 
“Next!” and Ben turned away disappointed. 

“ So I have found you at last, young man ! ” 
exclaimed a harsh voice close at hand, and a set 
of long, bony fingers closed over the youth’s left 
arm. Somewhat startled, he looked over his shoul- 
der, to find himself confronted by his guardian 
and step-uncle, Job Dowling. 


CHAPTER III 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 

“ Uncle Job ! ” 

“Exactly, Ben. I reckon ye didn’t figure on 
seein’ me jest yet, did ye ? ” 

“I — I did not,” stammered the youth. “Let 
go of my arm,” he continued, as Job Dowling’s 
bony fingers sank deeper into the flesh. 

“I ain’t a-goin’ to let go, Ben, and have you 
a-runnin’ away. You ran away once — ye shan’t 
do it ag’in, I’ll warrant ye that ! ” 

Mr. Job Dowling was a man of sixty, tall, and 
with a large set of bones, which were covered with 
little more than shrivelled-up, yellowish-brawn skin. 
He wore a tangled, reddish beard, and his hair, of 
the same color, hung down over a low, wrinkled 
forehead, beneath which gleamed a pair of what 
Walter Russell had aptly termed “toad’s eyes.” 
He wore a rusty. suit of black, the same that had 
been his best for twenty odd years, and in one 
22 


T 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 


28 


hand he carried a much dilapidated oilcloth trav- 
elling-bag. 

44 1 suppose you would like to know how I spotted 
ye,” went on the guardian, cooling down a bit, now 
the first excitement of his capture was over. 44 It 
was your letter done it — you said to write to the 
general delivery, so I knowed you would come here 
to git it.” 

44 Did you come all the way to New York just 
to find me?” asked Ben, astonished to think his 
step-uncle would pay out such a large amount for 
car fare. 

44 O’ course I didn’t ! ” snapped Job Dowling. 
44 1 ain’t a-payin’ no sech railroad fare jest to catch 
a boy who is wild-minded enough to run away 
from a good home. I had other business in New 
York, otherwise I shouldn’t ’a’ come. Now sup- 
posin’ you give an account o’ yourself,” and Job 
Dowling began to drag Ben into an out-5f-the-way 
corner, while Gilbert followed, viewing the scene 
in curiosity and concern, for Ben had told him a 
good deal about his troubles with the miserly man. 

44 1 haven’t much to mention, Uncle Job,” replied 
the youth, as steadily as he could, although being 
taken so completely by surprise had made him ner- 


24 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


vous. “I couldn’t stand it any longer at your 
place, and so I ran away, and came to New York, 
as I wrote in the letter.” 

44 And what are you a-doin’ now ? Loafin’ about 
the town and goin’ to destruction jest as fast as ye 
can, I’ll warrant.” 

“I am not going to destruction. Up to a few 
days ago I had a steady situation in a hardware 
store owned by Mr. Snodgrass — the man who 
used to have a store in Buffalo. You must re- 
member him.” 

At this announcement Job Dowling’s face took 
on a sour look. 44 So it was Snodgrass put it in 
your head to set yourself up against me, was it?” 
he grumbled. 44 1 allers set him down as bein’ 
an unfair man.” 

44 Mr. Snodgrass is as fair and square a man 
as there ever was ! ” burst from the youth’s lips. 
44 He’s been the best friend I could have ; he’s 
been better to me than you ever dared — ” 

44 Tut, tut, boy, don’t go for to talk back to me — 
I won’t have it. I know what is best for ye — know 
it better nor Snodgrass or yourself. The city ain’t 
no place for ye — with its wicked ways.” Job 
Dowling paused. 44 You said ye worked for him up 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 


25 


to a few days ago. Why did ye leave him, and 
what have ye been a doin’ since ? ” 

“ His place of business was burned out, and he has 
decided not to resume.” 

“ And ye ain’t workin’ now ? ” 

“No, I’m looking around for another place.” 

“ Humph T How much did Snodgrass pay ye? ” 

“ Six dollars a week.” 

“ Six dollars I The man mustn’t know what to do 
with his money. How much have ye saved of it? ” 
“I have sixteen dollars on hand.” 

“Is that all? You ought to have more — if ye 
worked for him any considerable time.” 

“ I had to pay four dollars a week for board.” 

“ What ! four dollars a week ! Board fer a lad 
like you ain’t wuth more’n two dollars and a half, 
or three dollars at the most. You’ve been swindled 
- — but it ain’t to be wondered at. You can be 
thankful some sharper didn’t git the sixteen dollars 
away from ye. Better turn it over to me for safe 
keepin’.” And Job Dowling dropped his travelling- 
bag and held out his hand. 

Ben’s lips closed tightly and he shook his head. 
“I’ll keep my money, Uncle Job. I think it will 
be as safe in my pocket as in yours.” 


26 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“No, it won’t be, Ben. Besides, I’m your guar- 
dian ; remember that ; and I have the say over all 
you have until you’re twenty-one. Hand the money 
over,” and Job Dowling now caught his nephew by 
both arms. 

“ I’m going to keep the money, and I’m going to 
take care of myself ! ” burst out Ben, half desper- 
ately. “When Walter and Larry and I lived with 
you, you treated us worse than dogs, and you forced 
us to run away. Now I am going to take care of 
myself until I am twenty-one, and then I’m going 
to call you to account. If you — ” 

“You — you rascal!” broke out Job Dowling. 
“Not another word, or I’ll be tempted to strike ye 
where ye stand ! To talk in this fashion to your 
lawfully appointed guardian ! It’s an — an out- 
rage ! But it only shows your naterally wicked 
disposition. You come along with me, and I’ll show 
ye a thing or two afore I have done with ye ; mark 
the words ! ” 

“ Where do you want me to go to ? ” 

“Never you mind — you come along.” 

“ I shall not go a step, Uncle Job. I told you I 
was going to take care of myself, and I mean it.” 

The eyes of the man blazed with inward wrath. 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 


27 


“ You will go ! If ye don’t, I’ll call a policeman and 
have ye locked up. It’s a pretty state o’ things 
when a lawfully appointed guardian can’t make sech 
a boy as you mind. If you don’t — hullo, he’s 
gone ! Stop him ! stop him ! He’s my nephew, and 
I’m his lawfully appointed guardian ! I’ll give a — 
a — ten cents to any one who stops him ! ” 

For, without warning, Ben had suddenly wrenched 
himself from his guardian’s grasp, and sped for one 
of the post-office doorways leading upon Broadway. 
Gilbert followed him, but came to a halt as the 
opening was gained. 

“Hi! git out of my way!” cried Job Dowling, 
as he found the passage-way blocked by the young 
Southerner’s form. u Git out of my way ! ” 

“ What is that ? ” demanded Gilbert, coolly, and 
at the same time shifting first to one side and then 
the other, so that Job Dowling found further prog- 
ress out of the question. 

“ I said git out of my way ! Can’t ye understand 
English?” was the wrathy return. “That’s my 
nephew tryin’ to git away from me — and I’m his 
lawfully appointed guardian.” 

“ I don’t blame him from trying to get away from 
such an ungracious individual,” said Gilbert, and 


28 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


then he passed out upon the street, having delayed 
the chase as he had intended, without Job Dowling 
suspecting his motive. 

The moment allowed to Ben had been enough ; 
and when Job Dowling reached the sidewalk the 
youth was nowhere to be seen in the crowd which 
was moving up and down the metropolis’ main 
thoroughfare. With a crestfallen face the guardian 
moved from one end of the post-office to the other, 
peered across the street through the maze of trucks, 
carriages and cable cars, and then came to a halt 
where Gilbert had taken his stand, not far from the 
corner. 

“He’s got away — and all through your fault,” 
he snarled. “I ought to hold you responsible for 
this.” 

“ My dear sir, you seem to be very much excited 
over what has happened,” answered Gilbert, who 
was not above getting some amusement out of the 
old miser. 

“ I’ve got a right to get excited. That boy ran 
away from Buffalo, — him and his two brothers,” 
was the answer, with a total disregard for grammar. 
“ He’s a wild one. If I don’t catch him, he’ll go to 
destruction. He’s got sixteen dollars in his pocket, 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 


29 


and he’ll fritter it away, or have it stolen on him, 
and — gracious me ! My valise ! ” 

And away in wild haste went Job Dowling for 
the post-office entrance. He had just remembered 
the oilcloth travelling-bag, which, in the excite- 
ment, he had forgotten. “ Supposin’ it’s gone ! ” he 
groaned to himself. And then he turned deadly 
white. . The bag was gone. Not a sight of it was 
to be seen anywhere. He wrung his hands in 
despair. 

“ I’ve been robbed ! robbed ! ” he moaned. “ And 
the bag contained my second best suit, and my 
underclothes, and that bag o’ jewelry I calkerlated 
to sell ! Where is the thief ? Oh, if only I can 
lay hands on him ! ” 

Seeing the old man was much disturbed, a post- 
office policeman stepped up and asked what was 
the matter, and into the ears of this officer Job 
Dowling told his tale of woe. A search was in- 
stantly instituted, but it was of no avail. The bag 
was not brought to light, nor could any one be 
found who had seen it being taken away. 

In the meanwhile what of Ben? Darting out 
of the post-office just ahead of Gilbert, the youth 
had not hesitated to plunge directly into the crowded 


30 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


street, feeling that it was the one way where his 
guardian would not follow him. A few weeks in 
the metropolis had caused the youth to feel perfectly 
at home there, and he cut across diagonally, as sure 
of foot as the ragged urchins with their armfuls of 
newspapers, landing, on the opposite side, at the 
lower corner of the Astor House. Without waiting 
here, he darted down Yesey Street to the neighbor- 
hood of the North River. 

“ My, but that was a narrow escape ! ” he mur- 
mured, as he ceased running after several blocks 
had been covered. “I’ll not go back to Buffalo 
with him, not if I know it.” And he turned along 
the river front in the direction of up town, thus 
giving the neighborhood of the general post-office 
a wide berth. 

He wondered if Gilbert had stopped to talk to 
his guardian, and if so, what his friend would have 
to say to the miserly man. “ I hope he doesn’t give 
Uncle Job my boarding-house address,” he mused. 
“ Perhaps I had better take my traps out of that 
place as soon as I can.” 

The more Ben thought of this, the more did it 
look like a good move to make ; and soon he was in 
an elevated train on his way to Harlem. He made 


JOB DOWLING SPEAKS HIS MIND 


31 


one change ; and this brought him within two blocks 
of what was his New York home, a modest brick 
dwelling, presided over by Mrs. Gibson, a motherly 
widow. 

It did not take him long to pack up his few 
belongings ; and this accomplished, he sought out 
his landlady, who was helping the cook prepare 
dinner, for it was now nearly six o’clock. 

44 I am going away for the present, Mrs. Gibson,” 
he began, when he heard the front door open, and 
Gilbert enter. Making sure his friend was alone, 
he ran up to meet him. Gilbert at once assured him 
that he had told his guardian nothing of importance. 

44 He ran back into the post-office for his grip, and 
then I came away,” concluded the young Southerner. 
44 You may as well stay here as anywhere. He will 
find hunting for you as bad as hunting for the pro- 
verbial pin in a haystack. But coming up on the 
train, something crossed my mind which won’t be 
pleasant news to you.” 

44 What is that, Gilbert?” 

44 It is this, Ben. You spoke about enlisting for 
the war if there is a call for volunteers. As you 
are under age, do you know you cannot enlist with- 
out your guardian’s consent?” 


32 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Ben’s face dropped, and a pang shot through his 
heart. On his way to the boarding-house he had 
pictured to himself his enlistment in the army as a 
way out of all of his present difficulties. Were his 
bright plans for the future to fall to the ground, 
after all? 


CHAPTER IV 


THE DRILLING AT THE ARMORY 

“ I can’t enlist without my guardian’s consent,” 
repeated Ben, slowly. “Then I fancy I am hooked 
to stay home. Uncle Job will never give in, even 
if I am foolish enough to ask him.” 

“ W ell, it may be the means of saving you from 
untold hardships,” responded Gilbert, who was in- 
clined to view the matter lightly. “ Remember what 
I have often said, if this war really comes, it will 
be no holiday-making. Spain has a large standing 
army, even if her resources are not as great as those 
of the United States ; and she will go in for making 
a brave showing when the first shot is fired.” 

“I don’t care. I am willing to take the risk, 
Gilbert. Somebody has got to go to the front, and 
why not fellows like me, who have no one depending 
upon them ? I think it’s a shame that I must stand 
back for such a — a miserable skinflint as my Uncle 
Job. You can wager all you’re worth he wouldn’t 
33 


34 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


risk his life, even if the whole country was in 
danger,” continued Ben, bitterly. 

“ I believe you, my boy ; he is disagreeable and 
hide-bound to the last degree. If he was my guardian, 
I would bring him to terms, even if I had to go to 
every court in the land. He is not fit to be the 
guardian of anybody.” 

Ben bit his lip, and began to pace the sitting- 
room floor. “ Mr. Snodgrass said he would aid me 
in a move against Mr. Dowling, if I accompanied 
him to Buffalo. If I ever do have to go back, I’ll 
ask Mr. Snodgrass to keep his word. I won’t live 
with Uncle Job, and that’s flat ! ” And he clenched 
his fists. 

Dinner was soon served ; but Ben had lost his 
appetite, and scarcely touched a mouthful. He was 
wondering what he had best do next. The news on 
the bulletin boards had put it into his head to wait 
a few days and see if volunteers were really wanted ; 
but what was the use now of waiting, if his guardian 
stood between him and an enlistment ? 

“It’s too mean for anything ! ” he muttered, as he 
proceeded to his room. “ I don’t believe any fellow 
ever ran up against such luck as I’m having.” 

“Supposing we take a walk out, and learn if 


THE DRILLING AT THE ARMORY 


35 


there is anything new from Washington,” suggested 
Gilbert. “ It won’t do you any good to mope over 
what has happened, Ben. 4 Beneath the clouds the 
sun’s still shining,’ is what I tell myself when I feel 
blue. Come on ; a brisk walk will do you good.” 

And he almost dragged the boy downstairs. 
Once in the street they set off for the avenue upon 
which was located the branch office of a leading 
morning newspaper. 

Here another crowd was collected, not as large as 
that in Park Row, but just as enthusiastic. The 
war news was being displayed upon a huge square 
of canvas by means of a stereopticon. The first 
lines which greeted Ben’s eyes ran as follows : — 

A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! 

It has been decided by the President and the com- 
mittee of Congress that not less than 125,000 volunteers 
shall be called out without delay. Each state and terri- 
tory will be called on to furnish its quota according to 
population. Governor Black is already preparing to 
issue the necessary orders to the National Guard of this 
state. 

NO FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR TO BE MADE ! 

The Cabinet has decided that no declaration of war 
is now necessary. A manifesto to all foreign powers 


36 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


may be issued. The navy will blockade Havana and 
await the cooperation of the army. Eegulars will be 
massed in Florida without delay, to be joined there by 
the volunteers. 

ROOSEVELT TO THE FRONT! 

Our own “ Teddy ” Roosevelt has signified his inten- 
tion of organizing a body of cavalry, to be known as 
Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, to be composed of all the 
famous Western men who are his friends. The cavalry 
will be equipped without expense to the government. 
William Astor will offer a battery to the President, and 
Helen Gould will donate money with which to equip a 
regiment. 

The news was being furnished piecemeal, and 
cheer after cheer went up as people, well known 
locally, were mentioned. “ Hurrah for Governor 
Black ! He won’t be behind with his boys in 
blue ! ” “ Let’s give one for brave Teddy Roose- 
velt and his Rough Riders ! ” “ What’s the matter 

with William Astor and Miss Gould? They’re all 
right ! ” And so the cries ran on. 

“ A troop of Rough Riders ! ” remarked Gilbert. 
“Now there is something that would just suit me. 
I can ride very well, and if they would have me, 
why, hang me, but I’d enlist,” and the young South- 


THE DRILLING AT THE ARMORY 


37 


erner gave a vigorous nod of his head. “Who is 
this Teddy Roosevelt ?” 

“He is at present Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy, but is well known as a New Yorker who is 
out for reform.” 

“No wonder he is popular, then.” 

“I don’t know that I should care to become a 
cavalryman,” went on Ben. “Being a foot-soldier 
would suit me well enough. But from the de- 
spatches it looks as if the volunteers were to be 
taken only from the militia.” 

“ I fancy there will be room for all who desire to 
enlist. Come, let us go down to the bulletin boards 
two blocks below here. I declare, I’m getting as 
much interested in this war news as yourself.” 

Gilbert led the way out of the dense mass of 
people and started to cross the street. It was dark 
away from the bulletin boards, and, in a moment, 
Ben and his friend became separated. Not know- 
ing which way to turn, the youth came to a halt in 
the middle of the street. 

Clang ! clang ! clang ! It was the gong of an 
ambulance which was clattering down the avenue 
at top speed. “ Clear the way there, or you’ll be 
run down ! ” came the warning, and helter-skelter 


88 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


went the crowd for the nearest sidewalk. Ben 
turned with the others, but paused as a cry of dis- 
tress reached his ears. 

“ Save me ! Help ! ” It was the voice of a man 
of middle age. He had slipped on the car tracks 
and lay flat on his back, with the ambulance bearing 
down upon him, the horses almost beyond the con- 
trol of the driver. 

“ He’ll be run over ! ” yelled some one, and sev- 
eral women began to shriek. “Whoa! whoa! ” com- 
manded the ambulance driver, frantically, but the 
horses paid no attention, and in a trice the nearest 
was but two yards away from the prostrate form. 
Then in a twinkle Ben leaped in, caught the fallen 
one by the arm, and dragged him back, and the 
ambulance thundered on, the doctor in the rear 
gazing out anxiously to see if all had gone well. 

“ Can you stand, sir ? ” asked the youth, when 
the danger was past. His heart had leaped into his 
throat, and he was breathing heavily. 

“I — I think so,” was the hazy reply. “When 
I fell I hit my head, and that dazed me for a min- 
ute.” The man arose slowly and leaned upon Ben’s 
arm. “Jove! but that was a close shave. The 
driver of that turnout ought to be arrested for 



In a Twinkle Ben leaped in Page 38 




THE DRILLING AT THE ARMORY 


39 


such reckless driving through a crowd. He would 
go to aid one injured person, and kill half a dozen 
in doing it. Young man, I owe you my thanks.” 

44 Let us get over on the sidewalk ; it’s safer 
there, Mr. — ” 

44 My name is Robert Turnbull. I’m a lawyer. 
And you are — ” 

44 Ben Russell, sir. Perhaps I had better see you 
home, Mr. Turnbull,” went on the youth, as he 
noticed the lawyer clasp his hand to the back of 
his head, as if in pain. 

44 Oh, no ; I’ll get over it in a minute. So your 
name is Ben Russell? Well, Russell, I shan’t for- 
get you in a hurry. If I can ever be of service to 
you, command me,” and the lawyer brought out his 
card and passed it over. 

A few words more passed, and then, seeing Gil- 
bert standing not far off, Ben parted from his 
newly made acquaintance, and joined his friend. 

44 I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” said 
the young man. 44 Where did you slip to?” 

The youth related what had occurred, to which 
Gilbert listened with interest. 44 You’re a brave 
one, and will make a first-rate soldier ! ” he cried 
enthusiastically, and clapped Ben on the back. 


40 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Oh, stow it, Gilbert ! What’s the use of talking, 
if I can’t enlist without Mr. Dowling’s consent? 
Let us go back to our boarding-house. I want to 
get a good night’s sleep and start out bright and 
early for something to do.” 

“I was going to suggest we go to the armory 
below here. I just heard one man tell another the 
companies were drilling. I should like to see them. 
I suppose the state militia will brush up, now it is 
likely to be called out.” 

“To be sure.” Ben’s face brightened. “All 
right, I’ll go — we needn’t stay very long.” 

Admission to the big stone building was free, and 
passing a number of private rooms belonging to the 
various companies, the pair found their way to the 
immense drill room, the sides of which were crowded 
with spectators, for the spirit of war had caught the 
city from end to end. 

Two separate companies were drilling, one going 
through the manual of arms, and the other exercis- 
ing in field tactics. For a while they watched the 
first named as it responded in clock -like movements 
to the commands, “ Present arms ! ” “ Carry arms ! ” 
“ Shoulder arms ! ” “ Load I ” “ Take aim ! ” “ Fire ! ” 
The click of a hundred Springfield rifles gave Ben 


THE DRILLING AT THE ARMORY 


41 


a veritable thrill. “ Gracious ! supposing the guns 
were loaded and they were firing at a lot of Span- 
iards ! ” he whispered to Gilbert. 

“ Yes, and supposing you were one of that com- 
pany and the Spaniards opened fire on you,’’ re- 
sponded Gilbert, but Ben failed to scare. 

“ I’d go anyway ; you can’t frighten me,” he said 
sturdily. 

The field tactics were even more interesting. 
Around and around the hall marched the company, 
in single rank, double rank, by columns of fours, 
and in single file. Then the double ranks swung 
around, the files separated, until each soldier stood 
several feet from those next to him. “ That’s a skir- 
mish line,” whispered Gilbert. “ See, they are go- 
ing ahead as if they were an advance guard creeping 
up to the enemy. Down they go ! ” as each soldier 
and each officer dropped on his knee. In this posi- 
tion the company went through the act of loading 
and firing. Then an advance of four yards was 
made, and suddenly, at the word of command, each 
man dropped flat on his chest. The dull thud on 
the floor caused a ripple of laughter, and it must be 
confessed that some of the soldiers looked rather 
sheepish. 


42 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEEK IN CUBA 


“Never mind; it’s no laughing matter when you 
are in the field and the enemy is trying to draw a 
bead on you,” observed Gilbert. “ I’d rather lie 
down to shoot the other fellow than stand up to 
let him shoot me.” 

In one corner an awkward squad were drilling, 
— seven young fellows dressed in their ordinary 
clothes and without guns. The sergeant in charge 
was having his hands full, making the seven obey 
the orders to “ Line up ! ” “ Mark time ! ” “ Right 
face ! ” “ Left face ! ” “ Eyes right ! ” and the like. 
Ben was all attention, for here was something he 
could thoroughly understand. Mentally he exe- 
cuted every order as it was given. The awkward 
squad still hung in his mind as he and Gilbert left 
the armory. 

“ I wish I was in that squad,” he muttered to 
himself. “ Oh, I must make Uncle Job consent to 
my enlisting — I simply must ! ” 


CHAPTER V 


BEN GAINS A POINT 

“A gentleman to see you, Mr. Russell.” 

It was the girl that attended to the door of the 
boarding-house who spoke, just as Ben and Gilbert 
were finishing their breakfast the next morning. 

“ A gentleman to see me ? ” repeated the youth. 
“ Can it be Mr. Snodgrass ? ” 

“ More than likely it is Mr. Turnbull, come 
to reward you,” remarked Gilbert, lightly. “ It 
wouldn’t be any more than fair for him to do the 
handsome thing, you know.” 

“ I don’t want any reward,” answered Ben. His 
face took on a troubled look. “ Perhaps it is my 
Uncle Job.” 

“Jove, boy, that’s so!” The young Southerner 
looked at Ben inquiringly. “ Shall I go up and find 
out?” 

“ I’d be much obliged if you would.” 

“ Certainly,” and flinging down the morning 
paper he had picked up, Gilbert started for the 
43 


44 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


parlor floor. Ben followed to the hallway and 
cautiously mounted the stairs after him. 

“ By creation 5 ” the youth heard, a second later, 
in the well-known voice of his guardian. “ If this 
hain’t jest the man I’m a-lookin’ for. You rascal ! 
what did ye do with that valise of mine ? Come 
now, out with it ! ” 

“ Your valise ? ” came from Gilbert, in bewilder- 
ment. “I know nothing of your valise, sir.” 

“Don’t ye now? Didn’t you keep me a-talkin’ 
outside the post-office buildin’ while your confeder- 
ate walked off with it? That’s it, and ye can’t 
make me believe otherwise ! ” And Job Dowling 
shook his fist in Gilbert’s face. 

The young Southerner, naturally hot blooded, 
flushed, and it was with difficulty that he restrained 
his temper. “ If you weren’t such an old man, sir, 
I would knock you down for your insinuation ! ” he 
cried. “ I tell the truth when I say I know nothing 
about your valise.” 

“I saw y-ou eyein’ the valise when I was fust 
talkin’ to my nephew, who boards here, accordin’ to 
what Richard Snodgrass told me,” went on Job 
Dowling, doggedly. “ Maybe you’re in league with 
him,” he added suddenly. 


BEN GAINS A POINT 


45 


“ If I am, it is not for the purpose of stealing your 
valise, Mr. Dowling.” 

“ Ain’t no tellin’. Where is Ben ? ” 

“You had best seek elsewhere for information.” 

“ I won’t do it. I’m goin’ to find Ben, and I’m 
goin’ to find that valise,” stormed the old man. 
“ If ye won’t tell me where Ben is, ye can walk 
down to the station house with me and explain 
’bout that valise, and that’s all there is to it.” 

That Mr. Job Dowling was in a “state of mind ” 
was easy to see. The running away of Ben and the 
loss of his property had completely upset his mental 
equilibrium, and he was ready to "do almost any- 
thing in order to “bring somebody to account.” 

“Did your valise contain much of value?” asked 
Gilbert, in as gentle a tone as he could com- 
mand. 

“ Did it ? I rather guess it did — my second best 
suit, and my underclothing, besides a bag of jew- 
elry I was going to sell — ” Job Dowling broke 
off short. 

“A bag of jewelry, Uncle Job?” The question 
came from the doorway, and Ben entered the 
room. , 

“Ha! here ye are, you young good-fer-nothin’ ! ” 


46 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


ejaculated the guardian, striding forward and facing 
his nephew. “ I was afraid Snodgrass had played 
me a trick, but I see he didn’t.” 

“Did Mr. Snodgrass give you my address?” 

“ O’ course he did, — but not till I told him I 
wanted to see you very partickler-like for your own 
good, he ! he ! ” Job Dowling snickered. “And it 
is for your own good, boy, ’though you don’t seem 
to know it. You shan’t git away from me again, 
I’ll warrant ye ! ” 

“You just said something about a bag of jewelry 
you had had in your valise, Uncle Job. “Was it 
the — the jewelry mother left to Walter, Larry, and 
me ? ” Ben’s voice faltered in spite of his effort to 
control it. 

“That ain’t none o’ your business,” was Job 
Dowling’s answer, but the flush on his wrinkled 
face told that Ben had struck the truth. 

“It is my business. You sold off all the other 
things, against our wishes, but you know it was 
mother’s particular wish that father’s watch, the 
two wedding rings, and grandfather’s Australian 
diamond should not be disposed of. You wanted 
to sell them before, but I stopped yorr. Now, if 
those things were in that bag and they were stolen, 


BEN GAINS A POINT 


47 


I shall hold you accountable for them. I have a 
friend here, a lawyer, Mr. Turnbull, who — ” 

1 4 Will ye ? ” Job Dowling’s voice trembled and he 
turned from red to white, as rage gave way to fear. 
44 1 ain’t accountable to you for what I do.” 

44 1 think you are. Anyway, I’m going to court 
and find out. Do you think you are just the proper 
guardian for three boys like Walter, Larry, and me 
to have? I don’t. You came to New York to sell 
off our family heirlooms, which you had no right to 
do. When you found me you wanted me to give 
up the money I had earned, for fear I would have 
it stolen from me, — yet within the same hour you 
dropped your valise and let somebody run off with 
it, and with part of my property. And that isn’t 
all,” continued Ben, warming up; 44 you follow me to 
my boarding-house and grossly insult my best friend 
here, Mr. Gilbert Pennington. And all this on top 
of the fact that you’ve been treating your three 
nephews like so many dogs, as a dozen folks in 
Buffalo can testify.” 

44 Why, you — you — ” Job Dowling was abso- 
lutely speechless. 

44 Please hear me out, Uncle Job.' I ran away, 
and so did Walter and Larry, because we couldn’t 


48 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


stand it any longer to be under the same roof with 
you. I came to New York to earn my own living, 
and I’ve been doing it, honestly, too — and not loaf- 
ing about town, as you sneeringly said. I am 
nearly nineteen and able to take care of myself. 
Now if you — ” 

“You ain’t able to take care of yourself,” 
snarled the guardian. “If I let you have your 
own way — ” 

“You had better hear me out, Uncle Job. From 
what you have said I infer you mean to make me 
go back to Buffalo with you.” 

“ Thet’s it, and — ” 

“ Hold on. Do you know what I shall do if com- 
pelled to go back to Buffalo ? I shall apply to the 
court to have another guardian appointed, and I 
shall bring so many witnesses to testify to ygur 
beggarly way of living and your miserly habits, not 
to speak of the mismanagement of our estate, that 
the town will become too hot to hold you.” 

“You — you miserable — ” 

“No more compliments, please ; I mean just what 
I say. All our friends in Buffalo know how we 
boys used to live before mother died, and they know 
how you wanted us to live afterwards, even though 
we had thousands of dollars coming to us — ” 


BEN GAINS A POINT 


49 


“ I don’t stand for wastin’ money — ” 

“No, you stand for hoarding it up, as if it was 
more precious than your own soul.” 

“ My conscience is clear, boy ; I can go to court 
and prove that I have done right, accordin’ to law. 
Your money is in the bank, and — ” 

“But what of the jewelry, and that watch ? You 
know that stuff was not to be sold.” 

“’Twasn’t in your maw’s will thet way.” 

“No, it wasn’t, but mother told us, and said she 
told you, and Mrs. Klein, next door, heard her speak 
of it. If I have to go to court, I’ll bring in Mrs. 
Klein as a witness, and I’ll show how the first row 
we ever had was over the heirlooms you sold which 
should have remained in the family. Where did 
you lose your valise ? ” went on Ben, with a sudden 
change of subject. 

“ Down in the post-office, when I went after you.” 

“ Did you go back for it ? ” 

“ O’ course I did, but I couldn’t find hide nor hair 
of it, nor could the policemen neither.” Job Dow- 
ling clasped and unclasped his bony hands ner- 
vously. “ Ben, it ’pears to me things have come to 
a high pass.” 

“ They have, and on your account, not mine.” 


50 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ I’m tryin’ to do my best by you. I don’t like to 
have ye away where I can’t keep my eye on ye. 
I’ve got to do my duty as a guardian.” 

“ As I said before, I’m able to take care of 
myself.” 

“ Yes, Ben is smart and can get along first rate,” 
put in Gilbert, who had dropped into an easy-chair, 
an interested listener to the “war of words.” “You 
cannot do better, Mr. Dowling, than let him go his 
own way.” 

“ I ain’t askin’ advice from you,” snarled the 
miser. He blinked his eyes in perplexity and ran 
his long fingers through his matted hair. “ If I 
consent to your remainin’ in New York, what will ye 
do, now Snodgrass has busted up ? ” he continued, to 
Ben, in a more tractable tone. 

Ben’s heart gave a bound of joy. He had made 
an impression upon his guardian at last, and it was 
with difficulty that he concealed his satisfaction. 

“ I think I can find some other opening,” he 
answered cautiously. 

“It ain’t likely — this war cornin’ on will knock 
everything flat.” 

“ It won’t be duller here than in Buffalo. I 
might go into the army, Uncle Job.” 


BEN GAINS A POINT 


51 


The old man gave a sniff. 44 Into the army ? Are 
ye crazy ! They don’t take boys.” 

44 They will take anybody over eighteen or under 
thirty-five.” 

44 Pooh ! a fine sodger you would make ! You’d 
run at the fust sight of a Spaniard.” 

44 Would you run, Uncle Job ? ” 

44 Me ? I’m too old to be drafted, thank good- 
ness ! No, I wouldn’t run, but I ain’t got no use 
for war anyhow. They wanted me to jine in the 
Civil War, but I was lucky enough to draw a blank 
each time that the draft came.” 

44 1 don’t believe there will be any great amount 
of fighting,” went on the youth, carefully feeling his 
way. 44 And they pay soldiers from thirteen to 
eighteen dollars per month and found.” 

At the mention of wages Job Dowling’s eyes 
glistened. As my readers must know by this time, 
nothing was dearer to his heart than money. 
44 Eighteen dollars and found is a tidy sum, Ben. 
What would ye do with it — pervidin’ ye jined the 
army ? ” 

44 I’ll tell you what I’ll do ! ” cried the boy, ear- 
nestly. 44 If you’ll let me join the volunteers, I’ll 
promise to send you half of what I get every time 


52 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


I’m paid off. And what is more,” he continued, 
pointedly, “ I’ll let this matter of going to court 
drop.” 

“ But if ye git shot ? ” 

“That will he my risk, not yours. Come, what 
do you say ? I want to join the volunteers, and my 
being in the army will save you a lot of trouble, and 
besides, you’ll make money by it. Can I go ? ” 

“ I dunno but what you kin — if you’re so set on 
it,” answered Job Dowling, as he dropped heavily 
into a chair. “ But, remember, if them Spaniards 
kill ye, it’s your funeral, not mine.” 


CHAPTER VI 


SOMETHING ABOUT AFFAIRS IN CUBA 

“ Hurrah, Gilbert ! That was easier than I 
thought it would he ! Now I can join the army 
just as soon as they will take me ! ” and in the 
exuberance of high spirits Ben actually began to 
dance a jig on the floor of the boarding-house bed- 
room. 

It was nearly noon, and Job Dowling had just 
left, to visit the police headquarters, hoping to find 
some news of the missing travelling-bag. He had 
admitted to Ben that the bag of jewelry had con- 
tained, among other things, the wedding rings previ- 
ously mentioned, also the watch, and had promised 
that if they were recovered he would take them 
back to Buffalo and turn them over to his bank for 
safe keeping until the Russell estate was settled up. 

“ My, but you talked to him like a Dutch uncle ! ” 
was the young Southerner’s comment, U I don’t 
wonder he gave in to you. I believe he was afraid, 
53 


54 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


if the jewelry wasn’t recovered, you would have him 
arrested.” 

“I must apologize for the manner in which he 
treated you, Gilbert. It wasn’t fair. But — but — 
you saw for yourself what manner of man lie is.” 

“ Don’t say a word, my boy ; lie’s a — a terror. 
I wouldn’t live with him a single day,” was Gilbert’s 
comment. “ I can’t understand how you three boys 
stood it as long as you did. Well, you are free to 
do as you please now, with that written consent in 
your pocket. It’s a good thing you got him to sign 
it before he had a chance to cool off and think it 
over, and that you mentioned Mr. Turnbull, the 
lawyer.” 

“I knew I would have to take him on the jump.” 
Ben drew a long breath. “ I only hope he gets his 
valise back, with the contents.” 

“ There is small chance of that in such a city as 
this. More than likely the thief has thrown the 
bag and clothing away and pawned the jewelry. If 
your uncle can describe the jewelry, the police will 
try to hunt the stuff up in the pawnshops.” 

“ The wedding rings belonged to my father and 
mother, and the watch was father’s,” went on Ben, 
soberly. “ It was mother’s wish that I, as the oldest 


SOMETHING ABOUT AFFAIRS IN CUBA 55 


of her boys, should have the watch, while Walter 
was to have father’s ring, and Larry mother’s.” He 
turned away to wipe something like a tear from his 
eye. “Job Dowling is so flinty-hearted he can’t 
understand these things. His one thought was to 
turn the watch, rings, and other jewelry into gold.” 

“ Let us go down for lunch, and then we can take 
a walk along the Bowery,” suggested Gilbert. “ We 
might see something of the jewelry, by blind luck. 
Besides, we can take in the war bulletins, and, if 
I can, I’m going to learn something more of this 
troop of Rough Riders Roosevelt is organizing.” 

One o’clock found the pair travelling towards 
the teeming east side of the metropolis. At every 
corner where there happened to be a bulletin board 
a crowd was collected. Beyond a doubt the city 
was going war mad. 

u Come on in and volunteer ! Come now, gents ! ” 
It was the voice of a red r faced man standing in 
front of a shabby -looking store. The doorway was 
draped with a large flag, and inside sat several men 
at tables, taking down the names and addresses of 
applicants. 

“ Here’s your chance, Ben ! ” laughed Gilbert. 
“No time for enlisting like the present.” 


56 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“Thanks — I don’t think I care to enlist here,” 
returned the youth. “If I could, I would like to 
join one of the regular regiments, like that we saw 
at the armory.” 

“Why, Ben Russell, do you think of enlisting?” 
The words came from close at hand, and Ben 
found his shoulder caught by a heavy-set young 
man of twenty. The young man’s name was Frank 
Bulkley, and he had been a clerk in the chemical 
establishment next to Richard Snodgrass’ store. 
Bulkley was a nephew to Mrs. Gibson, Ben’s board- 
ing mistress, and the two were well acquainted. 

“Yes, I am thinking of enlisting, Frank,” was the 
answer. “ Let me see; aren’t you a soldier already ? ” 

“ To be sure I am. I belong to the Seventy-first 
Regiment of this state, and I’m first sergeant of our 
company, the best company, too, in the regiment, 
let me tell you. If you and Pennington think of 
enlisting, you must join our company by all means.” 
And Frank Bulkley came between the pair and 
caught each by the arm. 

“ Oh, I’m going to join the cavalry if I join any- 
thing,” responded Gilbert. “ You know we South- 
erners prefer riding, and I’d feel more at home in 
the saddle than on foot. I want to find out about 


SOMETHING ABOUT AFFAIKS IN CUBA 57 


this troop of Rough Riders Roosevelt is going to 
raise.” 

“ Doc Graham can tell you about that. He knows 
Theodore Roosevelt quite well — was out W est with 
him on a hunting expedition just before Roosevelt 
came to New York to enter politics. I’m aston- 
ished to think Roosevelt is to give up his position 
as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, but it only 
shows what true American patriotism amounts to.” 
Frank Bulkley turned to Ben. “ You don’t want to 
become a cavalryman, do you ? ” 

“No; I’ll become just an ordinary foot-soldier like 
yourself, Frank.” 

“ Then you must join our company. You’ll find 
the boys a first-rate crowd. Most of them are 
young fellows.” 

“But your regiment may not be called upon to 
go out.” 

“Colonel Greene feels certain we will be. He 
practically said that he had the governor’s assur- 
ance of it.” 

“Where can I find this Doc Graham?” ques- 
tioned Gilbert. To his Southern mind nothing was 
finer than the picture of a daring cavalryman on a 
dashing black steed. 


58 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“He’s down in the Temple Court building on 
Beekman Street, in the offices of Raymond & Gra- 
ham. If you want to see him you had better do 
so soon, for he is going to Washington to join 
Roosevelt in a few days.” 

“ I’ll see him this afternoon ! ” exclaimed Gilbert. 

For two hours he and Ben wandered along the 
Bowery, looking into this pawnshop and that, but 
without catching sight of the property Job Dowling 
had lost. Then, as the friends emerged upon Park 
Row, Gilbert hurried off for Temple Court, while 
Ben took up his station near the newspaper offices. 

There was even more exciting news than there 
had been the day previous. Not only Havana but 
a great number of smaller ports east and west of 
it were being blockaded, and the gunboat Nashville 
had taken a prize in the shape of the Buena Ventura , 
a vessel of 1700 tons, having on board a cargo of 
lumber. In addition to this Congress was prepar- 
ing to pass a special Army Bill, and Spain had called 
out 80,000 additional soldiers by royal decree. The 
war was on ; there was no longer any doubt of it. 

“Doesn’t look as if there could be any backing 
out now,” remarked the youth to an elderly gentle- 
man standing beside him. 


SOMETHING ABOUT AFFAIRS IN CUBA 59 


“There should be no backing out,” was the firm 
reply. “ We owe it to the Cubans and to the cause 
of humanity to expel the Spanish from Cuba. The 
poor fellows down there have been fighting for their 
freedom for three years, and they deserve to have 
it. I have been in Cuba and I know.” 

“ Have you been there lately ? ” 

“ I came home with Fitzhugh Lee and was among 
the last to leave Havana. I can tell you the ex- 
citement was intense and no American was safe. 
I had money invested in a sugar plantation, but 
that has been swept away by this struggle between 
the Spanish and the insurgents.” 

“ May I ask if you saw any of the fighting ? ” 
went on Ben, curiously. 

“ I saw more than I cared to see. The first up- 
rising was on February 24, 1895, in the Santiago, 
Santa Clara, and Matanzas provinces. I was in 
eastern Cuba on a visit at the time, and it was a 
hot quarrel between those who wished to remain 
under Spanish rule and those who declared for 
freedom. Then, just three years ago to-day, I was 
at the battle of Ramon de las Jaguas, where a hun- 
dred Spaniards were killed and about one-third of 
that number of Cubans.” 


60 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEEB IN CUBA 


“I understand that the Cubans try continually 
to draw the Spaniards into anlbush. ,, 

“They have to do that, for what can a half- 
starved. poorly-equipped body of men do in the 
open against soldiers who have everything they 
require ? Many of the Cubans are armed only with 
their machetes, — long, stout knives used for cut- 
ting down sugar-cane, — and they would know very 
little about using rifles even if they were given 
them. Of course, some of the soldiers are well 
armed, but they are in the minority.” 

“I presume if we send an army to Cuba the 
Cubans will co-operate with us.” 

“ I think they will, although there may be a 
clash between American and Cuban leaders as to 
who shall plan and lead in the campaign. The 
Cubans declare that they are on the threshold of a 
final victory, and it may be that they will be jealous 
of their laurels.” 

“ But are they so nearly victorious ? ” 

“I do not think so. It is true they are very 
strong in the interior of the island and hold many 
small towns, but their so-called attacks upon Ha- 
vana have proven failures ; they have done but little 
in and around Santiago on the southeast coast, and 


SOMETHING ABOUT AFFAIRS IN CUBA 61 


I do not believe that a single seaport along the 
whole two thousand miles of coast-line is open to 
them.” 

“ That certainly doesn’t look like a victory.” 

“ They are relying, to my way of thinking, upon 
worrying Spain into relinquishing her hold. So far 
this rebellion has cost the mother country many 
millions of dollars, which she has been forced to 
borrow from foreign bankers. If Spain’s credit 
ceases, the war must cease. On the other hand, 
Spain feels she must not let go, for the cost of this 
war must come out of revenue from Cuba princi- 
pally, with aid from Porto Rico and the Philippines, 
her other colonial possessions of value. She can- 
not pay the bill out of her home treasury.” 

“ When you were in Havana did you find so many 
cases of starvation as reported in our papers ? Ex- 
cuse me for asking, but I am tremendously inter- 
ested, and expect to join the volunteers when they 
are called out.” 

The elderly gentleman smiled. “ Your determi- 
nation does you credit, my young friend, for the 
government will have need of young blood. Yes, 
I did find much destitution among those who had 
been driven in by General Blanco’s order. I can 


62 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


cite you one case in particular. There was a family 
consisting of a mother, three small children, and 
an aged grandfather. These people had lived on 
a small farm some thirty miles south of Havana, 
a farm worked by the husband of the woman. 
The husband entered the rebel army, and the 
others were at once hustled — I can use no other 
word — away from their home and driven into the 
city by General Blanco’s order. They knew no one 
in the city, and no government aid was given to 
them. The woman and the aged man sought work, 
but Havana was so overcrowded with help nothing 
was to be had, and that family would have starved 
to death had not my friends and I assisted them. 
And that case of misery is only one of thousands 
among the reconcentrados, as they are called.” 

“ That is a fearful state of affairs, sir.” 

“Fearful is not a strong enough word, — it is 
atrocious, abominable, — to make innocent women, 
children, and helpless old men suffer like that. To 
help those poor people would alone be justification 
enough for this war, without remembering the 
Maine or anything else,” concluded the gentleman, 
and with a nod he passed on. 


CHAPTER VII 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 

“ I can’t find that valise, and I’m sick and tired 
of the city, and I’m goin’ back to Buffalo fust thing 
in the mornin’.” 

It was Job Dowling who spoke, as he threw him- 
self on a chair in Ben’s room and heaved a moun- 
tainous sigh. For three days he had haunted the 
police headquarters, buttonholed every officer that 
he ran across, and followed up his nephew in a tour 
of the pawnshops. 

“I calkerlate the thief got away jest as fast as 
he could make tracks,” he went on, “and to stay 
here is only a sheer waste o’ board money. I’m 
a-payin’ fifty cents a night where I sleep, and the 
bed is as hard as a board and full o’ bugs, and I 
can’t git no kind o’ a meal less’n fifteen or twenty 
cents. I’m goin’ back.” 

“ I think myself it’s the best thing you can do, 
Uncle Job,” returned Ben, as calmly as he could. 

63 


64 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


u Of course I am terribly put out over the loss of 
the watch and jewelry, but what can’t be helped 
can’t be helped, and that is all there is to it.” 

44 I was a-actin’ for what I thought was best,” said 
the old miser, half whiningly. “ I was calkerlatin’ 
to put solid money in the bank for you and Walter 
and Larry.” And he gave a deep groan. 

A great change had come over Ben’s guardian. 
The robbery had opened his eyes to the fact that he 
was not as shrewd as he had deemed himself, and 
he was in momentary terror that his nephew might 
hold him accountable before the law for the loss. 
He had a little property of his own, but to give that 
up would have been like parting with his heart’s blood. 

It was early in the evening, and Gilbert had gone 
off to have a second interview with Doc Graham. 
The first interview, down in the office in Temple 
Court, had promised well, and it looked as if the 
young Southerner would really become a member 
of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. 

44 1 would rather have you remain in town until 
I’ve enlisted,” resumed Ben. 44 There might be 
some trouble, even though I have that permit you 
signed.” 

44 1 don’t see why you want to turn sodger,” began 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 


65 


Job Dowling, when a step was heard in the hall and 
a knock sounded on the door. 

“Frank!” cri§d Ben, as the young sergeant 
entered. The newcomer and the youth’s guardian 
were speedily introduced. 

“ Glorious news ! ” burst out Frank Bulkley. 
“ Governor Black has called out the first, second 
and third brigades of New York and Brooklyn, and 
we are to get ready to leave the city as soon as 
possible.” 

Ben’s heart gave a jump. “ Then your regiment 
is sure to go? How do you like the prospect?” 

“Didn’t I just say it was glorious news? Would 
I say that if I wasn’t pleased ? I came here just as 
fast as the car could bring me. Our company is 
short exactly eight men, and beyond a doubt those 
men will apply for enlistment to-night. So I — ” 

“You want me to come to the armory and enter 
my name?” broke in Ben, quickly. “I’ll do it — 
no)v you are certain you’ll not be left behind. 
You’ll come, won’t you, Uncle Job?” 

“ Where to ? ” 

“ The Seventy-first Regiment’s armory. Frank is 
a sergeant in one of the companies, and I’m going 
to enlist with him, if I can.” 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“Well, I dunno. It’s kind o’ sudden. If you’re 
enlisted ye can’t back out.” 

“ I won’t want to back out. I’ve been reading up 
on this war trouble every day, and I’m going to 
help the Cubans to freedom and help give Spain 
the thrashing she deserves for allowing the Maine 
to be blown up. Come on, and let’s forget about 
that stolen jewelry,” and he caught his guardian by 
the arm. 

The mentioning of the jewelry did more than any 
argument could have accomplished, and Job Dow- 
ling arose and buttoned up his long, rusty coat and 
adjusted his soiled collar and greasy stock. “ All 
right, if you’re bent on it, Ben,” he murmured. 
“ But, recollect, I didn’t advise it, and don’t blame 
me if ye come back minus an arm or a leg, or with 
that murderous yellow fever in your system.” 

The three were soon on the way, Job Dowling still 
growling, but so softly that neither Ben nor Frank 
Bulkley could make out what he said. It was a 
common trait with the old miser to growl, even if 
there was no cause for growling. 

The armory was crowded with men, and here and 
there a sprinkling of ladies and girls, — the wives, 
sweethearts, and children of the soldiers, — and an 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 


67 


occasional mother, old and gray, gazing proudly at 
her soldier hoy as he went through the military 
exercise laid down for him. 

“This way,” said Frank, pushing through a knot 
of men about the door to a side room. Inside were 
several officers seated at a long table covered with 
books and blanks. Reaching the table, Frank sa- 
luted his superiors. 

“ Lieutenant Rowan, this is my friend, Benjamin 
Russell,” he said. “He is ready to enlist at once.” 

The lieutenant looked at Ben critically, and so did 
the other officers. The youth could not help flush- 
ing, yet he returned the gaze unflinchingly. Evi- 
dently the first impression was a favorable one. 

“You are ready to enlist in the militia of the 
state of New York?” asked one of the officers. 

“ I am, sir.” 

“ Are you willing to be mustered from the militia 
into the United States Army if you pass the proper 
examination ? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ Your name ? ” 

“Benjamin A. Russell.” 

“ Your age ? ” 

“ I was eighteen last Fourth of July.” 


68 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ An independence boy, eh ? ” laughed the lieuten- 
ant. “You ought to make a good soldier.” And 
a general smile followed. 

“As you are under age, Russell, you will have 
to get the consent of your parents or guardian 
before we can consider your application,” went on 
the officer who had previously spoken. 

“ My parents are dead, sir. This is my guardian, 
Mr. Job Dowling, and here is his consent in writ- 
ing,” and Ben produced the paper. 

“ Mr. Dowling, you are willing your ward, Ben- 
jamin Russell, should join the militia and become 
mustered into the United States Army?” 

“Well — I — guess so. It’s his own doin’s.” 

“You will please answer me more directly, sir.” 

“What’s thet?” 

“Yes or no, please.” 

“Oh! Yes; since he wants to jine.” 

“Very well; kindly affix your name here.” 

The officer shoved forward a sheet upon which 
he had been writing, and, with a great deal of 
labor, Job Dowling wrote his name on a line pointed 
out in a heavy scrawl. “ Now, remember; Ben, it’s 
your doin’s, not mine,” he whispered, as he drew 
back. 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 


69 


“Russell, are you over five feet four inches in 
height ? ” 

“I am five feet six inches tall.” 

“What do you weigh?” 

“About one hundred and thirty pounds.” 

“Have you any physical disability? I merely 
ask to avoid the trouble of a doctor’s examination, 
in case you have. You will be examined even if 
you say you are sound.” 

“ I am perfectly well, to the best of my know- 
ledge, sir. I haven’t needed a doctor for years.” 

“You look healthy. As we are to leave New 
York as soon as possible, and the surgeon is 
here, you’ may go in for your physical examination 
at once, if you wish. Bulkley has recommended 
you highly, and so has a certain Mr. Snodgrass ; 
so there will be no trouble in joining this company 
if you can stand the tests.” 

“I am ready if you are, sir.” 

Without further words, Ben was led off to a side 
room in the armory, while the officers turned to 
another applicant. Two physicians were in at- 
tendance in the side room, and the youth was 
ordered to strip, after which he was carefully ex- 
amined, from a medical standpoint, from head to 


70 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


feet. Following this, he was weighed and measured, 
and then his eyesight and hearing were tested. 

“You’re as sound as a dollar, Russell,” remarked 
one of the physicians, when it was all over. “ I 
wish I could say as much for all who apply. Here 
is your certificate.” 

“I knew you would pass,” cried Frank, as he 
again took charge of Ben. “You’ll make a splen- 
did soldier. Come on back, and I’ll introduce you 
to Captain Blank, and then you can be sworn in, 
and I’ll get you in the awkward squad I’m to 
drill.” 

They found the captain surrounded by a crowd 
of military men ; for the orders to get ready to 
move had caused much excitement. “ Very glad 
to know you, Russell, and glad to learn you passed 
the tests so well,” was the greeting received, with 
a hand-shake. “ Bulkley, you must introduce him 
around and make him feel at home. I want all 
my boys to feel like brothers,” and with a smile, 
Captain Blank dismissed them. 

The swearing in took but a few minutes, and 
then Ben signed the muster-roll of the company 
in a firm hand. 

“You’re a soldier now,” cried Frank, and shook 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 


71 


hands. Even Job Dowling smiled faintly, and 
stretched forth his bony fingers hesitatingly. “ I 
hope it’s for your good, Ben,” he muttered. “ But 
there ain’t no tellin’ till the war’s over.” 

There were but six in the awkward squad which 
Frank Bulkley led to a corner for drill, — six young 
fellows that had enlisted within the past forty- 
eight hours. Two were city youths, evidently 
clerks, the third was of Irish extraction, the fourth 
a German, and the fifth undoubtedly a full-blooded 
Yankee, by the drawl in his voice. The sixth re- 
cruit was Ben himself. 

“ Now then, fellows, pay strict attention to what 
I say, and you won’t have to remain in the awkward 
squad long,” began Frank, after he had placed the 
six in a row, with Ben at the right of the line. 

“ Sure, and I don’t see what you call it an awk- 
ward squad for,” remarked Dan Casey, the Irish 
recruit. “We’re a fine body enough, so we are!” 

“ Silence, please ; soldiers must never speak in 
the ranks.” 

“Dot’s vere you puts your foot in him, Casey,” 
remarked Carl Stummer, the German recruit, who 
lived in the same apartment house with Casey. 
“Now I shan’t say me von vord.” 


72 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“What are you doin’ now but talkin’, Stummer?” 
grinned Casey ; then, as he caught Sergeant Bulk- 
ley’s stern eye, he straightened up and closed his 
mouth with the rapidity of a mouse- trap. 

“Creation — ’’began Peter Wilkens, the Yankee 
lad, but stopped short, while Ben and the two clerks 
laughed ; and that ended talking in the awkward 
squad for that night. 

“Now, the first thing to do is to stand in a 
straight row, with your feet thrown out at a slight 
angle, your head up, and your shoulders well back,” 
went on Sergeant Frank. “ Put your arms down 
straight, and bend your palms slightly forward. 
Try to make the position natural, not woodeny.” 

“ It’s not — ” arose upon Casey’s lips, but ended 
in a gurgle. Carl Stummer was on the point of 
laughing, but the sergeant’s gaze caused the smile 
to quickly fade. 

“Now, that’s a fairly good line, although you’ll 
do better after you get used to it,” continued Ser- 
geant Frank. “Look straight ahead; Eyes front 
is the command. Now, Eyes right ! Eyes front ! 
Eyes left ! Those commands explain themselves. 
We’ll try it again.” 

And they did try it again, not once, but a dozen 


BEN JOINS THE MILITIA 


73 


times, until the six pairs of eyes moved like clock- 
work. 

“Now let us try to mark time,” went on the 
young instructor. “ That means to keep step with- 
out moving forward. Commence with the left foot, 
and that means the first beat of the bass drum when 
you’re on the march. Now then, attention ! Mark 

— time ! ” And down came six left feet with a 
determined stamp, one after another. “ That won’t 
do — you must come down as one man. Try again 

— Mark — time ! Left, right, left, right, left, 
right ! There, that is better ; you’ll soon get the 
movement,” and he gave Ben a nod of approval, 
for Ben had done better than any of the others. 

Marking time having come to an end, the young 
sergeant showed the squad how to wheel, right 
and left, and how to go through the motion of 
about face. This was hot work in the overcrowded 
armory, and the perspiration poured from Ben’s 
face. Yet he did not lag in the drill, and with 
his heart thoroughly in his work, did fully as well 
as any one else. 

“ We’ll call it off for to-night,” said Sergeant 
Frank, after nearly two hours had gone by. “ But 
before you go the quartermaster wants to have 


74 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


each of you measured for his uniform, so he can 
rush the order for suits through. How many of 
you would like to come here at ten o’clock to- 
morrow morning for drill ? It’s not compulsory, 
but Captain Blank would like the company to march 
away with full ranks and each man thoroughly 
trained.” 

“ I’ll come,” answered Ben, promptly, and so did 
Casey, Stummer, and one of the others. The rest 
were not sure, but said they would come if they 
could. There the matter rested, and after leaving 
his measure, Ben returned to his boarding-house, 
and at the door separated from his uncle. 

“ I’m goin’ to take the six o’clock train for home,” 
said Job Dowling, as he held out his hand. “Re- 
member, this jinin’ the army is your own doin’s, 
Ben. But I wish ye luck, — an’ supposin’ we let 
bygones be bygones,” and as the two shook hands, 
Ben promised. It was the last the youth saw of 
his guardian for a long while to come. 

On the table in his room Ben found a note 
awaiting him. It was from Gilbert, and contained 
the following : — 


BEX JOINS THE MILITIA 


75 


“ Dear Bex : I am right in it, as the saying 
goes. Have fixed it to join the Rough Riders, and 
am to help arrange for horses and the like. I leave 
at once for the South, with Doc Graham, and we 
are to stop off at Washington and confer with Mr. 
Roosevelt and a certain Colonel Wood. Good-by 
to you, and I sincerely hope we meet again, either 
in camp or on a glorious battlefield.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


OFF FOE CAMP BLACK 

The regiment which Ben had joined had been 
called out by the governor during the latter part 
of April, but it was not until early in May that 
the soldiers left the metropolis to unite with thou- 
sands of others in a camp at Hempstead Plains, 
Long Island. 

During this time history was being made with 
great rapidity. The blockade around Havana had 
been strengthened, and hardly a day passed but 
that one or more prizes were taken. The majority 
of these captures were accomplished with ease, 
yet here and there a lively time was had. 

In the meanwhile a necessary Army Bill was passed 
by Congress, and the House voted to declare war, — 
rather a useless proceeding, since war was already 
an assured fact. In the midst of the excitement 
the venerable Secretary of State, John Sherman, 
feeiing he could not conduct the duties of his office 


76 


OFF FOR CAMP BLACK 


77 


during such trying times, resigned, leaving the 
position to be filled by Assistant Secretary Day. 

The regular army, consisting of some twenty-five 
thousand men, was hurried with all possible speed 
to points of concentration in the southeast, only 
a handful being left to guard the western and 
southern coasts and the Indian reservations. To 
show how ignorant some of the Spanish were of 
our resources, and of the true condition of inter- 
nal affairs here, it may be added that a Spanish 
newspaper of this date contains an editorial setting 
forth that “ it will be impossible for the Americans 
to use their soldiers against Spain, for if they are 
withdrawn from the frontier, the hordes of savages 
being held in check will descend upon their prin- 
cipal cities and massacre the inhabitants ! ” 

The one hundred and twenty-five thousand vol- 
unteers called for by President McKinley were to 
come from the various states and territories, each 
to furnish its quota according to population, and 
from Maine to California the militia were in a 
bustle, preparing to march to their various state 
camps, there to be mustered into the service of the 
United States. In addition to this, many private 
parties began to raise companies and regiments, 


78 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


and numbers of civic societies offered their services, 
not the least of which were veterans of the Civil 
War, North and South, — too old to go, yet as young 
of heart as ever, — Italian and Greek benevolent 
associations, Gennan singing societies, and colored 
companies. The war fever spread to all our seats 
of learning, and Yale and other colleges put stu- 
dents into the field. 

It was not thought that Spain would allow the 
blockade of Havana to go on without some effort 
being made to raise it, or to retaliate, and a strict 
watch was kept along our coasts for the possible 
appearance of her warships, and the harbors of 
many of the larger cities, like New York, Boston, 
and Charleston, were mined, and lighthouses were 
left unlit during the night. 

On Sunday, May 1, news reached the United 
States which electrified the people and sent a 
thrill of pride through every patriotic heart. 
Commodore, afterwards Admiral, George Dewey, of 
the Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy, 
had met a strong fleet of Spanish warships in 
Manila Bay of the Philippine Islands, and de- 
stroyed the enemy completely, and had done this 
without the loss of a single ship or a single man 


i 


OFF FOR CAMP BLACK 


T9 


killed. How this was accomplished has been told, in 
all its glorious details, in 44 Under Dewey at Manila.” 

44 It’s the greatest news ever received ! ” cried 
Ben, enthusiastically, in speaking of it to Frank 
Bnlkley. 44 My ! but wouldn’t I like to have been 
there to see the battle. Eight or nine warships 
sunk or burned and we come off with scarcely a 
scratch ! Hurrah ! ” And he flung his soldier cap 
high in the air. 

Ben now had his complete army outfit, and drill- 
ing for nearly a week with and without a gun had 
made of him quite a soldier. He was no longer 
in the awkward squad, but in the regular company, 
and had even taken several lessons in loading and 
shooting. 

The outfit furnished to him consisted of a suit 
of clothes and a slouch hat, a pair of heavy shoes 
and leggings to go over them, a gun, a bayonet, 
an intrenching knife, a haversack containing a 
knife, a fork, a spoon, and a meat can ; a canteen 
and a tin cup, and a blanket. In addition to 
these, he was required to provide himself with an 
extra set of underclothing, a towel, cake of soap, 
comb and brush, thread and needles, court-plaster, 
and numerous other odds and ends. 


80 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ By creation ! but thet air pack is going to 
weigh something,” remarked Peter Wilkens, as he 
stood near Ben, surveying the pile before him on 
the armory floor. “Do all soldiers have to carry 
sech a load?” 

“Most of them do,” answered an officer stand- 
ing by. “ In the regular army some men dispense 
with the haversack and roll their stuff in their 
blanket, which they strap over one shoulder. 
When you are on the march you’ll have to carry 
a wall of a tent in addition to what you have 
there.” 

“ Phew ! mebbe the cap’n ’ll want me to carry 
a feather bed for him, too,” murmured Peter, as 
he got down to roll his blanket. 

“ I shan’t mind that load up here,” said Ben. 
“But when we get down in Cuba, with the ther- 
mometer up to a hundred in the shade, why — ” 
he finished with a doubtful shake of his head. 
“Never mind, we’re working for Uncle Sam, 
Wilkens, so let’s make the best of it.” 

“ That’s right, Russell ; we’ll be after lookin’ on 
the sunny side,” put in Casey. “ Sure, an’ them 
Spaniards will suffer more than we, poor lads ! 
Just wait till the Sivinty- first gets after ’em ! ” 



It was a Royal Send-off Page 81 




OFF FOR CAMP BLACK 


81 


Bright and early on the day following, the sol- 
diers turned out en masse and made their way to 
the Long Island ferry, where they took passage 
for Long Island City. How proud Ben felt as he 
marched along, for this was the first time he had 
paraded since enlisting! How he wished Walter 
and Larry could be there to see him ! Little did 
he dream of the exciting scenes through which his 
younger brother, afloat on the other side of the 
world, was passing, or of what Walter, in Boston, 
was doing. The band played, the people along 
the line hurrahed, and it was a great time all 
around. 

At Long Island City the large depot was packed 
with soldiers and those who had come to see them 
off. Again the band blared forth, handkerchiefs 
fluttered, and hundreds of flags flung their folds 
to the breeze. As train load after train load of 
soldiers departed, a mighty shout went up, and the 
steam whistles from the boats along shore and the 
near-by factories added to the din. It was a royal 
send-off, yet no more enthusiastic than was received 
by our gallant boys everywhere. 

“It makes one feel like jumping out of his skin,” 
remarked Ben to Frank, as he waved a last adieu to 


82 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


a group of girls who stood on a pile of railroad ties, 
waving tlieir handkerchiefs at all who passed. “ War 
seems to make us all brothers — and sisters.” 

“ And how those whistles are blowing ! ” an- 
swered Frank. “They’ll sing in my ears for a 
week.” 

“ How long will it take us to get to Camp Black? ” 
asked a soldier sitting near by. 

“About two hours, I think. The road is rather 
blocked, you know. It will be a fine ride as soon 
as we get out into the country districts.” 

“ Have you ever been to Hempstead Plains ? ” 

“No ; but I understand it is an almost unbroken 
plain, with here and there a slight hollow, and 
without trees or brush. The government selected 
it because it is an eas y place from which to send 
troops in various directions,” concluded Frank. 

Soon the city had been left behind, and the train 
passed orchards filled with apple blossoms and 
meadow lands rich with fresh green grass and 
spring flowers. The sun was shining brightly ; 
and as the soldiers moved through the cars, the 
general appearance was that of holiday - making. 
“Dis vos like a big-nic of der Schutzen Bund,” 
remarked Stummer. “ Of var been like dis all der 


OFF FOR CAMP BLACK 


83 


times, 1 keep me right on peing a soldier, hey, 
Casey?” 

“ ’T won’t be all like this, me Dutch frind,” an- 
swered the Irish volunteer. “ If I can read the 
signs right, there’s a storm brewing, and we’ll catch 
it on our first night out ; ” and Casey was right, 
much to Stummer’s disgust. The wind veered 
around "while the troops were leaving the trains at 
Garden City, and blew in strong and threateningly 
from the ocean. 

It was a two miles tramp to camp ; and now Ben 
got his first experience of soldier life as, with loaded 
knapsack and blanket, he ploughed along with the 
others over the rough stubble and through the 
meshy meadow grass. Once he went down in a 
hole, to pick himself up amid a general laugh from 
his companions in arms. 

“And is this where we’re to camp?” cried Frank, 
as the company finally came to a halt. “ Where are 
the tents ? I thought they were to be in readiness 
for us.” 

Such had been the intention ; but some one had 
blundered ; the freight trains with stores were slow 
in arriving, and eight thousand soldiers stood in the 
open, watching the sun go down, and wondering 


84 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


what sort of a first night they were to put in. The 
wind was blowing colder and colder ; and a mist 
was creeping up from the sea, — a mist that soon 
gave way to a pitiless rain. 

“ This is army life with a vengeance,” remarked 
Frank, as he and Ben strode off, to see what the 
prospects for shelter were. “ I didn’t enlist to sleep 
out in the open.” 

“ Stummer declares he will dig himself a cave in 
the ground,” laughed Ben. “ Now, if we only had 
a cup of hot coffee — Hurrah! there is a wagon 
load of wood, with the cook stove dangling under- 
neath, and there is Crowley the cook. We’re going 
to have something for the inner man.” 

“Crowley, Crowley, give us something to eat! 

Crowley, Crowley, or we shall die!” 

came in a sing-song wail from a score of soldiers, as 
they advanced in a mock attack on the wood wagon. 

“I’d like to know how I’m going to give you 
something to eat with the provision train half a 
mile off,” muttered Crowley. “ Where are your 
rations?” 

“Devoured long ago, Crowley, dear,” came in a 
piping tone from one soldier. “ Oh, dear, good 


OFF FOE CAMP BLACK 


85 


Crowley, don’t let me die of starvation, and in the 
open air, too ! ” and a roar went up. 

“I’ll tell you what,” went on Crowley, hopping 
to the ground. “I’ll start up a fire, and you can 
gather around and get warm ; and I’ll cook any- 
thing you’ll bring me, and that’s the best I can do. 
Corporal Duckworth and four others are waiting for 
our stores ; but when they will get here, the railroad 
company alone knows.” 

The fire was started, and a huge kettle of water 
put on, in expectation that meat and coffee would 
soon arrive. The warmth from the blaze was cheer- 
ing, and the soldiers drew as close as possible. 

“I see several wagons coming this way,” said 
Ben, half an hour later. “They are full of poles.” 

“ The tents ! the tents ! ” was the cry, and it 
proved to be correct. Five minutes later the white 
shelters were springing up like magic upon every 
side, until the vast plain was dotted with thousands 
of them. Straw followed the tents ; and the soldiers 
proceeded to fix up their military homes, each to 
suit his own taste and that of his tent-mates. 


CHAPTER IX 

A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 

“ My, but tliis is a corker ! ” 

It was Frank who uttered the words. He was 
standing up in the centre of the circular tent with 
his coat pulled tightly around him, shivering as 
though with the chills. Outside it was pitch dark, 
with the wind blowing fiercely and the rain coining 
down in torrents. 

“ I’m wet to the skin,” he went on, to Ben, who 
sat up, huddled in half a bundle of wet straw. 
64 And I believe my shoes have a pint of ice-water 
in them.” 

“ I think myself that the heat in Cuba would be 
preferable to this,” answered Ben, grimly. “If I 
smoked I would light a pipe just to keep my 
nose warm. If this keeps on — Hullo, what’s 
that?” 

A sound of pattering feet in the company’s street 
86 


A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 


87 


had reached his ears. He looked out of the tent 
flap, to behold half a dozen soldiers running and 
slapping their hands over their chests. 44 We’re 
bound to keep warm somehow ! ” shouted one of 
the number. 44 If we stayed in our tent we’d be 
frozen stiff.” 

44 You can thank your stars you’re not in my 
place to-night,” came from the corporal of the 
guard, as he shuffled up. 44 Every man out seems 
to think it’s my fault he’s on picket duty, and 
they’re calling me on the slightest provocation. 
They think — There it goes again,” he continued, 
as a cry, 44 Corporal of the guard, number seven ! ” 
rang out through the whistling wind. 44 Now 
that’s from Blinkey Davis, and lie’s down in the 
hollow, with a foot of water to wade through to 
get to him. He’ll say he saw something suspicious 
and then ask me for a match, see if he don’t ; ” and 
away went the corporal, muttering things under his 
breath far from complimentary to the picket man in 
question. 

44 Bad as it is here, I’m glad I’m not out,” re- 
marked Ben, when an extra puff of wind caused 
all of those inside of the tent to leap up in alarm. 

44 We didn’t put this tent up sthrong enough,” 


88 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


came from Casey. “ Give me the spade an’ I’ll 
pound down thim pegs,” and he went to work, 
with Ben assisting him. 

It was not until after midnight that Ben dropped 
into a doze, with Frank sleeping close upon one side 
and Wilkens upon the other, in order to keep out as 
much of the cold as possible. At half-past six the 
dull rattle of wet drums awoke him, and he crawled 
outside. It was still raining, although not so hard 
as before. 

“Vot ve got to do now?” asked Stummer, who 
stood in the middle of the muddy and slippery 
company street. “Da vont call us to barade in 
dis veather, vill da?” 

“ Certainly they will,” answered Frank. “ Come 
now, tumble out and get yourselves into shape.” 

Although it had rained all night, no water avail- 
able for washing purposes was at hand. “ There is 
a driven well some distance back of our camp,” said 
Frank. “ We’ll go there for a bucketful,” and off 
he and Ben started. 

On returning, the two friends found everybody 
up, and soon the roll of the company was called. 
Then came the sick call, but, curiously enough, 
although a few of the men were barking with 


A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 


89 


slight colds, nobody considered himself unwell 
enough to go to the hospital tent. 

Never was a breakfast eaten with more avidity 
than on that morning. All that Ben received 
was a cup of coffee, some hardtack, and a boiled 
egg, yet 110 meal at Mrs. Gibson’s had tasted 
sweeter. 

“Sure, and wan could eat anything,” remarked 
Casey, as he soaked up his hardtack. “ This warm 
coffee do be fit for the gods,” and he gulped it down 
with great gusto. 

“We’re not to go on a regular war footing until 
to-morrow,” said the captain to Frank, while Ben 
was within hearing. “ The commandant has 
decided that to-day shall be given over to making 
the boys as comfortable as possible. We’ll have 
a general parade, and that’s all.” 

“What did he mean by going on a war foot- 
ing?” questioned Ben, later; and Frank showed 
him a typewritten copy of a general order which 
had been issued. Among other things this con- 
tained a time schedule for the camp, and as some of 
my young readers may be curious to know just how 
the soldiers put in the hours each day, I insert the 
schedule here. 


90 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


First call for reveille. 



. 5.25 a.m. 

Reveille .... 



. 5.30 “ 

Assembly for roll-call 



. 5.35 “ 

Sick call .... 



. 5.45 « 

Mess call (breakfast) . 



. 5.55 “ 

Squad and company drill . 



. 6.25 “ 

Guard mount 



. 7.55 “ 

Adjutant’s call . 



. 8.10 “ 

Policing camp (cleaning up) 



. 8.30 “ 

Battalion drill , 



. 10.00 “ 

Mess call (dinner) 



. 12.00 “ 

Regimental drill 



3.30 p.m. 

Mess call (supper) 



. 5.00 “ 


General parade 


Half hour before sunset. 


Tattoo 
Taps . 


9.30 p.m. 
10.00 “ 


“That is easy enough to understand,” said Ben, 


after he had studied the sheet. “First we get up 
and have breakfast. Then we drill in squads or 
the whole company drills together. After that we 


clean up the camp, and then our major will take 


our battalion of four companies and drill them 


together. That will give us an appetite for din- 
ner, and to shake down our feed we will have a 


drill by the whole regiment of twelve companies. 
Supper will be served at five o’clock, and just 
before sunset we’ll have a parade by the whole 
brigade, or by several brigades. It’s as plain as day. ” 


A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 


91 


“It is to you — because you are a born soldier,” 
laughed Frank. “ Some fellows can’t- get that thing 
through their heads to save their lives, and are con- 
tinually asking some other chaps what’s to come 
next.” 

“ I see there are to be no drills on Sunday,” went 
on Ben, glancing at the bottom of the sheet, “ ‘ but 
divine services shall be held if practicable.’ I like 
that. If I know anything about it, our chaplain is a 
fine man, and I’ll like to hear him preach out here 
in the open.” 

“ If it doesn’t keep on raining,” returned Frank, 
as he hurried off, to attend to his duties as a ser- 
geant. 

A short while later found Ben hard at work with 
a spade, helping to dig a trench around their tent, 
that the water from the sides might run off and not 
soak underneath. Casey was with him. 

“It’s not yourself as is used to such labor, I’ll 
warrant,” grinned the young Irish soldier. “It’s 
a pen you’re used to handlin’, ain’t it now?” 

“ Hardly, Casey ; I was a clerk in a hardware 
store. I don’t mind this, though. It’s not so very 
hard.” 

“I used to work on a truck farm over to Long 


92 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Island City, so digging comes natural to me. Now, 
Stummer, there, worked at silversmithing, and he 
can no more handle a spade than a cow.” 

“Vot’s dot?” cried the German volunteer. 
“You vos know noddings apout dot, Casey. Gif 
me dot spade vonce ! ” and he tried to take the 
implement. 

“ Go on with you ! ” answered Casey, and put 
the spade behind him. A good-natured scuffle 
ensued, and a moment later both slipped in the wet 
mud, and one fell flat on his back, while the other 
pitched on his face. 

“Now look phat ye have done ! ” growled Casey, 
speaking with a broad accent when excited. “ Oi 
told ye to let me alone. See, me face is all covered 
wid mud ! ” 

“ It vos your fault ; you knocked both of us 
down ! ” bellowed Carl Stummer. “ Chust see 
mine pack air e tty ! How I vos going on trill 
mid such a coad as dot, hey ? ” and he held up the 
coat-tails on either side of him. 

“ Go for him, Dutchy ! ” cried one of a number 
of soldiers standing near. “ Show him that sauer- 
kraut is as good as corn beef and cabbage, any day.” 

“You chust mine your own beesness,” answered 


A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 


93 


Stummer. “ Yon dink ye fight chust to blease you, 
hey? Yell, ye ton’t ; ain’t dot so, Casey?” 

“ Fight ? Saints preserve us, no ! ” ejaculated 
the young Irish volunteer. “We’ll be after savin’ 
that for the Spaniards. Let’s both get a washup ! ” 
and away they went, arm in arm, for the driven well. 

“By gum ! but they air a great team,” said Peter 
Wilkens, gazing after them. “ They’re as different 
ez day an’ night, yet they air like two brothers. I 
reckon they’re the kind o’ foreign stock as is helpin’ 
to make these United States wot they air,” and he 
turned in to take Casey’s place on the trenches. 

Although camp duty was rather lax on that day, 
yet towards noon the regiment was called out, to 
pay its respects to the major-general, at his head- 
quarters on the hill. In spite of the softly falling 
rain, the soldier boys presented a gay appearance as 
they marched by with colors flying and a band 
playing a patriotic grand march. 

“This is something like,” said Ben, When it was 
all over. “ But I shan’t really feel like a volunteer 
until I have been mustered in by the United States 
regulars.” 

“That will come in due time,” answered Frank. 
“ I believe they’ll start in on examining the men 


94 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


to-day or to-morrow. All those things take time, 
you know. We’ve got to have a lot of new guns 
and other things, too.” 

Everybody was hoping it would clear up on the 
day following, but instead it rained as hard as ever, 
and this kept up for forty-eight hours after, until 
in the hollow where Ben’s regiment was placed, the 
water was from six inches to a foot and a half deep. 
“ Ef it gits much deeper, we’ll have to take to boats; 
that’s ez true ez your born,” said Peter Wilkens. 

“Yes, or else we’ll wake up some mornin’ 
drowned,” answered Casey, soberly. 

The rain interfered seriously with the cooking 
arrangements, and more than once the soldier boys 
were treated to food but half done. Yet, if there 
was any grumbling, it was done in private, for every 
one was on his mettle and prepared to show that as 
a soldier he could stand almost anything. 

“We’re out of it at last, thank goodness! ” cried 
Ben, on Friday, as the sun shone forth ; but, alas ! 
his joy was short-lived. By night it had settled 
down to rain again. “ It’s as bad as at McClellan’s 
campaign on the Peninsula, during the Civil War,” 
he grumbled to Frank. “At that time, I under- 
stand, it rained twenty days out of thirty, and the 


A WEEK OF DISCOMFORT 


95 


artillery got stuck so deeply in the mud it could 
scarcely be budged.” 

With the coming on of Saturday night the wind 
came up again, and it was blowing lively when Ben 
turned in, utterly worn out over a day’s work 
transferring rations from the freight cars to the 
regimental quarters. 

How long he had been sleeping he did not know. 
Suddenly a fearful crack of thunder awoke him. 
As he sat up there came a crack of a different sort 
as the centre pole of the tent snapped in halves. 
Down came the canvas upon his own head and 
those of his companions. Then came a strange 
roaring of wind, and the youth felt himself lifted 
up into the air and borne he knew not whither. 


CHAPTER X 


IN WHICH BEN IS MUSTERED INTO THE UNITED 
STATES SERVICE 

“ Help ! help ! Somebody pull down this tent, 
or I’ll be blown up into the clouds ! ” 

Such was Ben’s muffled cry, as he felt himself go- 
ing up, wound around and around in the sheet, from 
which he tried in vain to extricate himself. Had 
there not been so much wind, he must have been 
smothered. 

A regular down-east gale had struck Camp Black 
in all its merciless fury, levelling tents, scattering 
records, stampeding horses, and creating a general 
havoc. When it was over, folks residing in the 
vicinity stated they had not seen such a storm for 
ten years, and the soldiers were quite willing to 
believe this true. 

Though Ben’s flight was uncertain, it was of short 
duration. A distance of less than thirty feet was 
covered, when the canvas roll came down with a 


BEN IS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 


97 


swish and a bang upon the headquarters of the first 
and second lieutenants, wrecking one side of the 
structure and dumping Ben upon the second lieu- 
tenant’s breast. 

“For the love of General Miles!” came in a 
gasp, as the officer tried to rise. “What’s this? 
— a cyclone?” 

“I — I — don’t know what it is!” panted Ben, 
crawling from the wreckage. “ The wind took me 
right up, and that’s our tent, which stood the sec- 
ond below this.” 

“You don’t tell me, Russell! You’re lucky to 
escape without broken bones. The next time you 
try flying, choose some other course, please,” and the 
officer began to examine his breast to learn if any 
bones were broken. 

“ I trust you are not hurt, sir. I didn’t sail up on 
purpose, I can tell you that.” 

“I don’t suppose you did. No, I’m not hurt. 
But this — ” 

“ Catch those stakes ! ” burst in the first lieu- 
tenant. “ Quick, or this tent — ” 

The two officers and Ben ran to hold the tent 
down, but it was too late. With a rush the wind 
came underneath, and over went the canvas, carry- 


98 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


ing the men’s cots with it. The air was filled with 
rain, bits of straw, shreds of cloth and tent pegs, 
not to mention numerous articles of wearing- 
apparel. 

“Well, this is soldiering under difficulties, I must 
declare,” was the first lieutenant’s comment, as, 
standing out in the howling element, he surveyed 
the scene as well as the blackness of the night would 
permit. 

“Anybody hurt?” It was a call from Captain 
Blank, as he passed rapidly through the desolated 
company street. “Too bad, lads, but we’re all in 
it. My tent is down, too. I’m afraid but little can 
be done until morning.” 

“ Who cares ? ” cried a light-hearted soldier, as 
he brushed the water from his face. “ Down with 
Spain, and remember the Maine ! ” And this 
brought forth a cheer, after which every one felt 
better. 

“ It’s hailing ! ” ejaculated Casey, a while later, 
and such was a fact. The hail was fine and as 
sharp as glass, and seemed to cut to the bone. 

The lowest part of the hollow in which the regi- 
ment was encamped was knee-deep in water, and 
here the soldiers were struggling to keep their ef- 


BEN IS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 


99 


fects from drifting away. Lights could not be 
kept lit, and many an uncomfortable tumble was 
had in the darkness. 

“I don’t know as I’ll go to church services to- 
day,” said Frank to Ben, after a late breakfast had 
been served on Sunday morning. “The chaplain 
will be in a tent, but most of the boys will have to 
stand outside.” 

“I’m going, Frank. I never yet missed church 
on a Sunday, even when I was tramping from Buf- 
falo to New York. We can’t get much wetter than 
we are now.” 

“ Oh, yes, but it — I don’t think it will amount 
to anything,” murmured the young sergeant. 

“ I think it will ; we’re sure to have something 
patriotic. Come on, and you’ll have something in- 
teresting for your mother in your next letter,” 
concluded Ben. 

He knew this would decide Frank, for he had 
heard the young sergeant promise his sister to 
attend services and keep from drinking while in 
the army, because the aged mother wished it so. 
“All right, I’ll go!” he cried. “Come on, Wil- 
kens,” and the three hurried off arm in arm, and 
nearly half the company came after. 


100 A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 

“ Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 

Ye soldiers of the Cross ! 

Lift high His royal banner ! 

It must not suffer loss ! ” 

It seemed odd to hear this sung in the open air, 
with the steady rain pouring down upon the heads 
of the singers. “ Puts me in mind o’ singin’ at a 
grave,” whispered Peter Wilkens. Yet the soldiers 
sang loudly and well, showing that their hearts 
were in harmony with the hymn. 

The singing finished, the chaplain arose, and 
standing upon nothing better than an upturned 
box, delivered a sermon particularly adapted to the 
occasion, in which he endeavored to show each of 
his hearers what his duty was to himself, his coun- 
try, and his God. Then a prayer was offered, and 
the brief services came to an end with several 
hymns, including one which seemed to ring over 
the entire camp-ground : — 

il Onward, Christian soldiers, 

Marching as to war, 

With the Cross of Jesus 
Going on before ! ” 

“ It was splendid ! ” said Frank, after the bene- 
diction. “I’m awfully glad I went.” And he 


BEN IS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 


101 


squeezed Ben’s hand. That first Sunday in camp 
was never forgotten. 

The rain and cold brought a number of the sol- 
diers into difficulty. Everybody wanted a camp- 
fire, and as no wood was to be had excepting for 
cooking purposes, some of the volunteers sneaked 
off to a private woods back of the grounds, and cut 
what they wanted. On their return they were met 
by the provost marshal, the military chief of police, 
and put in the guard-house for twenty-four hours. 

One regiment longed for fresh milk and deter- 
mined to have it, no matter what the cost. A com- 
mittee was formed, a fund created, and twelve 
cows were purchased, one for each company. Then 
sprang up a rivalry as to which company’s cow 
would furnish the most milk, and many a merry 
wager was laid as to results. The regiment was 
good-humoredly dubbed the “ Cowboys.” 

In that camp of ten thousand men, “ mascots ” 
were everywhere. Dogs and cats were numerous, 
and there were likewise a game cock and a Billy 
goat. The goat was a most pugnacious creature 
and brought more than one soldier to grief by a 
secret attack from the rear. Evidently he had a 
dislike for those of Teutonic extraction, for he never 


102 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


failed to attack such, and poor Stummer did not 
dare to go within fifty yards of the beast. 

“ Dot goat is vorse nor dree Spaniards alretty ! ” 
was the way in which the man expressed himself. 
“ Of I vos der colonel, I vould order him* court- 
martialled und shot pefore sunset.” Yet Billy lived 
on, to become, in time, a universal pet. 

I mention these little things to show that life in 
camp, despite the downpour and the chilling winds, 
was not as devoid of brightness and “ go ” as one 
might imagine. The soldiers had enlisted for what- 
ever might cbjne, and one and all were determined 
to make the best of the situation. 

In the meantime physical examinations for en- 
trance into the army of the United States had been 
going on day after day. To Ben the examination 
was of small moment, but others were not so fortu- 
nate. Of the company of a hundred, six failed to 
pass, and their places had to be filled by new re- 
cruits. 

“We are going to enlist to-day,” said Frank, on 
the Tuesday following the rainy Sunday. “ I heard 
Colonel Greene tell the captain so.” 

The announcement caused a stir in the camp of 
the regiment. They were to be among the first of 


BEN IS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 


103 


tlie state’s militia to enter the service of the United 
States. Ben’s heart beat high. 

“If we’re entered first, perhaps we’ll go South 
first,” he said. “ I’ll be glad of it. I don’t want to 
be detailed to guard some fort up North, or some 
powder magazine or mill. I want to see active ser- 
vice in front of the enemy.” 

“Maybe it will be more active services nor ye 
wants,” put in Casey. “Now, for my part, I’d 
rather guard a fort here, wid nice girls coinin’ in of 
a Sunday to look at me, than lay in the trenches in 
Cuba in the rain, with a Spaniard waitin’ to pop at 
my head.” 

“ Oh, Casey, you don’t mean that ! ” cried Ben. 
“You’re as brave as any of us, and I know it.” 

“ Yah, dot’s it,” added Stummer. “ Casey talks 
mit his mout only.” 

The expected mustering in of the regiment had 
attracted a tremendous crowd of visitors to the 
camp, among whom the ladies and girls predomi- 
nated. All were in a flutter, and when, at four 
o’clock in the afternoon, the orders came to fall in 
for the solemn ceremony, a scene followed hard to 
describe. 

“John, it may be your death warrant,” said one 


104 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


old lady to her son. “ Consider well what you are 
doing.” 

“ I have considered, mother,” answered the son, 
a tall, manly youth of twenty-one. “ Uncle Sam 
needs the services of such as I, and I am going.” 

“Frank, do you truly wish to join?” It was 
Frank Bulkley’s sister who spoke, a timid girl of 
seventeen. “Remember mamma has only us two 
now, since father died.” 

A lump came up in Frank’s throat. “I — I — 
mother said I should go if I thought it my duty, 
May,” he faltered. “ And I do think it my duty. 
I’ll come back all right ; never fear,” and he kissed 
her affectionately, while she clung to his neck until 
the very last moment. 

The drums rolled, there was a parting squeezing 
of hands, and the men fell into their proper places, 
and began their march to that part of the plain 
where the mustering in was to occur. As soon as 
the regiment came to a halt, a guard was formed by 
other soldiers to keep the crowd of visitors back. 

“ This is your last chance to draw back, boys, if 
any of you do not care to enlist in the United States 
service,” said Captain Blank, when the company had 
been drawn up. “Remember, no men are wanted 


BEN IS MUSTERED INTO SERVICE 


105 


who do not desire to go, or who are really needed at 
home. The roll will be called, and as each man’s 
name is pronounced he will step three paces to the 
front and bring his gun to a carry arms. If a mis- 
take is made in calling your name, salute the mus- 
tering-in officer, step to the front, and explain.” 

And then started the long task of calling out the 
full names of nine hundred and eighty-three en- 
listed men and forty officers. 

“ Benjamin A. Russell ! ” came the call, and with a 
surging heart the youth took his three paces forward 
and brought his gun from a shoulder to a carry arms. 

“ David G. Rust,” followed, and the drummer of 
the company also advanced, giving a tap on his 
drum, since he had no gun to shift. And so the 
calling off continued, until the end of the long list 
was reached. 

“I will now administer the oath of allegiance,” 
said the mustering-in officer, as he returned once 
again to Ben’s company. “ Each man will take off 
his hat and raise his right hand.” 

And as the soldiers stood there, under the open 
sky, with bared heads and uplifted hands, the oath 
was read, slowly and distinctly, that every one 
might hear and understand. 


106 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ All and each of you do solemnly swear that you 
will bear true faith and allegiance to the United 
States of America, and that you will serve them 
honorably and faithfully against all their enemies, 
whomsoever, and that you will obey the orders of 
the President of the United States and the orders 
of the officers appointed over you, according to the 
rules and articles of war, so help you God.” 

“ So help me God ! ” murmured each man in 
the ranks, and a few seconds of absolute silence 
followed. Then came a cheer for the company, 
from those who had been enlisted but a few 
minutes previously. The mustering-in officer 
shook hands with Captain Blank, and welcomed 
him and his command into the United States 
army, and then passed on to do his duty else- 
where. When the mustering-in was completed, a 
band played “ The Star-Spangled Banner,” and all 
the military officers within sight and hearing un- 
covered. The tune was then changed to a lively 
march, and away swung the regiment for its 
quarters, amid a wild cheering which kept up for 
the best part of half an hour. 

Ben was a United States soldier at last. 


CHAPTER XI 


BOUND FOR THE SOUTH 

“Here’s a letter for you, Ben.” 

It was Frank who spoke. The sergeant had 
just come along with a number of letters for the 
men, and he handed over one postmarked Boston. 

“It’s from Walter,” cried the young volunteer, 
as he scrutinized the superscription. “ I wonder 
what he has to say?” And he opened the com- 
munication. 

“ My dear Ben,” so ran the letter. “ So you 
have really become a soldier? I must confess I 
didn’t think you would do it, even though you 
mentioned such a possibility before war was 
actually declared. I hope you are doing well, and 
if you see active service in the South, I trust you 
will come out a captain, or more. 

“As I wrote to you and to Larry, I took the 
war fever as badly as any one. Phil Newell, the 
107 


108 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


man who owns the news stand, is an old Civil- 
War sailor, as I mentioned when I got the 
position. He filled me with stories of life on a 
man-o’-war, and yesterday I went over to the navy- 
yard and enlisted as a gunner’s apprentice. I 
don’t know what vessel I’m to go on, but am mak- 
ing a strong pull to get aboard of the Brooklyn, 
the flagship of Commodore Schley’s Flying Squad- 
ron. Like yourself, I want to get into the thick 
of it, and not stay up here doing mere coast 
duty. 

“I suppose you’ll wonder how I obtained per- 
mission to join the navy. I went at Uncle Job 
just as you did, only, of course, by letter, and he 
got so scared about that stolen jewelry, he said I 
could go and do anything I pleased. I think it 
was a shame to attempt to offer the stuff for sale, 
and I hope the police will get on the track of it. 
Uncle Job said in his letter the police had an idea 
the thief might have come to Boston. If he’s 
around here, I’d just like to lay hands on him, 
that’s all. 

“ Yes, Larry wrote to me, too, that he was about 
to sail from Honolulu to Hong Kong. It does 
beat all how he loves to travel around. Won’t he 


BOUND FOB THE SOUTH 


109 


be surprised when he hears that we have gone 
into the army and navy? Perhaps he’ll wish he 
was with you or me. 

“ I must close now, as I’ve a lot to do yet, for 
myself and for Mr. Newell, who doesn’t like to 
miss me, but wishes me well. I’m on leave of 
absence until to-morrow morning. Good-by until 
you write to me again, in care of the navy depart- 
ment here. It looks now as if our running away 
from Uncle Job would lead us into lots of ad- 
ventures, eh?” 

Ben’s face broke into a quiet smile as he finished. 
“Good for Walter; I knew he was as patriotic as 
anybody. Well, I trust he comes out with shoulder 
straps, too, although it’s hardly likely either of us 
will be so fortunate,” he thought. 

He had scarcely finished when a loud cheer from 
a neighboring company caught his ears. The cheer 
came travelling down one street after another, until 
it had passed through the entire regiment. 

“ What’s it all about ? ” he queried of Peter 
Wilkens, who stood nearest to him. 

“ It’s news from headquarters,” answered the 
Yankee lad. “We’re to start for Tampa, Florida, 


110 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


to-morrow. Brigadier General Davis jest sent the 
word to the colonel.” 

“ Hurrah, we’re bound South at last ! ” burst out 
Ben. “ If we get down to Florida, it won’t be long 
before we’re shipped to Cuba.” 

It was a day never to be forgotten. Perhaps 
some of the other regiments were a bit jealous, 
which was natural, yet they did not show it, and 
one and all joined to help those to leave get ready 
for the start. 

It was a busy time. Suits were brushed up, 
guns cleaned and oiled, knapsacks packed, rations 
stored away, and the regimental quarters thoroughly 
policed or cleaned. “We’ll be among the first 
volunteers to join the regulars,” said Frank, “ and 
we want to make the best possible showing.” 

It had been arranged that the regiment should 
take trains back to Long Island City, and there 
board the transport City of Washington , which was 
expected to tie up at one of the city’s piers. The 
day dawned fairly clear, with a stiff breeze whipping 
out the big flag floating so proudly before general 
headquarters. The word of command was" given, 
and down came two hundred tents simultaneous^, 
and then began the task of rolling them up and 


BOUND FOR THE SOUTH 


111 


loading them with their poles on trucks for trans- 
portation to the freight cars. 

“ Sure an’ we’ve lost our homes now ! ” cried 
Casey, as the canvas dropped. “ It’s myself is 
wonderin’ where we’ll be housed next.” 

“ We won’t want tents in Cuba, will we? ” asked 
Peter Wilkens. “I’ve heard tell the rebels wear 
next to nothing and live out of doors.” 

“I reckon you’ll be glad of a tent during the 
rainy season,” put in Frank. “ Why, don’t you 
know it rains about half the year there ? ” 

“Du tell!” ejaculated Peter. “Say, ef that’s 
the case, mebbe it would be better for Uncle 
Sam to pervide umbrellas for the guns instead of 
bayonets.” 

Many of the soldiers had telegraphed to friends 
and relatives that they were about to depart for 
the South, and at the last moment visitors arrived 
again, to speak a final farewell and whisper words 
of comfort and good cheer. At five o’clock the 
soldiers were ready to depart, and off they started 
for the railroad station, the band playing “ The 
Girl I Left Behind Me,” and hundreds yelling and 
cheering at the top of their lungs. 

“We’re off!” shouted Ben, as the train began 


112 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


to move. “Three cheers for Camp Black and the 
good fellows left behind ! ” and the cheers were 
given with three times three and a tiger. Soon the 
great camp was left behind, and they were moving 
onwards at the rate of forty miles an hour. 

It was eight o’clock in the evening when the run 
to Long Island City came to an end, and the soldiers 
alighted. “Where’s our boat?” was the first ques- 
tion asked. No vessel was in sight at the dock, 
and a deal of questioning elicited the information 
that the City of Washington was too large for the 
docking facilities, and was lying down the harbor, 
near the Statue of Liberty, on Bedloe’s Island. 

“ I wonder if we’re going to remain here all 
night?” questioned Ben. 

“We can bunk in the freight shed,” laughed 
Frank. “Nothing like getting used to roughing 
it, you know.” 

“I dink me I schlip off for a snooze at mine 
home,” was Stummer’s comment. 

“ Yes, an’ git shot fer desertin’,” answered Casey. 
“Remember, Carl, me boy, you’re a U. S. soldier 
now, even if you are a volunteer, and must toe the 
mark for Uncle Sam for the next two years.” 

“ I vos only makin’ fun,” grumbled Carl. “ I vos 


BOUND FOR THE SOUTH 


118 


schleep on der roof of der tepot if da vonts me to. 
I vos chust so good a soldier twict ofer as any of 
dem.” 

It was nearly three o’clock in the morning before 
matters were straightened out and several ferry- 
boats came in, to take the regiment out to the 
transport. “ By columns of fours — march ! ” came 
the command, and company after company went on 
board. “Now for a long coast trip!” said Ben 
to Peter Wilkens. 

“ I’ve been a-thinkin’,” responded the Yankee 
volunteer. “Our ships are busy blockadin’ Cuba. 
Supposin’ the Spanish fleet comes sneakin’ over here 
and lights on our transports, wot then? It’s a fine 
lot o’ prisoners they’ll be a-takin’ back to Spain with 
’em ! ” 

“ Oh, I guess our transports will have a convoy 
of one or more battleships, Peter. You know the 
Second Massachusetts Regiment is to go along, too, 
on the Vigilancia. The authorities wouldn’t let two 
thousand men run too much of a risk when it wasn’t 
called for.” 

“ Well, I dunno. I was readin’ in the paper 
yesterday that the folks at Washington are sure 
thet Spanish fleet is somewhere nigh our coast. 


114 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


You can lay straws on it they’ll try to git even fer 
wot Dewey did, if they can.” 

“ Sampson’s fleet and Schley’s Flying Squadron 
will keep a wide-open eye for them. I don’t believe 
they’ll dare to come too close to our coast, for fear 
of another defeat.” 

“ Sure and the alarm of some folks is remark- 
able,” put in Casey, with a laugh. “ I know one 
family as owns a fine summer home at Asbury Park, 
along the Jersey shore. They used to spend every 
heated term there, but this year they’re not goin’, 
fer fear the Spanish warships will come along an’ 
lift the roof off wid a six hundred pound shot ! ” 

Ben joined in the laugh. “The Dons won’t 
waste their shots in that fashion, not while there 
are cities and forts to fire upon, and while it costs 
in the neighborhood of several hundred dollars 
every time a big gun is discharged.” 

“ Mine cracious, does it cost so much as dot ? ” 
burst out Stummer. “ Say, I vouldn’t vont to go 
to var mit nopody. I vould pin a peggar der first 
dime der gun oxploded.” 

“It takes money for nations to quarrel,” said 
Ben. “ I hear it is costing Uncle Sam nearly a 
hundred thousand dollars a day to meet expenses, 


BOUND FOR THE SOUTH 


115 


ancl goodness alone knows what it will cost when 
we reach Cuba and get to fighting. I don’t see how 
a country like Spain can stand the drain.” 

“ She can’t,” answered Frank. “ She is practi- 
cally bankrupt. The only way she raises money 
now is by going to her greatest creditors and telling 
them that if they don’t help her out they may lose 
their entire investment, and hoping almost against 
hope those creditors are throwing good money after 
bad, as the saying goes.” 

Here the conversation dropped, for all were sleepy, 
and the one thought was to get a nap before day 
should dawn again. The trip to the City of Wash- 
ington was soon accomplished, and then began the 
work of transferring the men from one vessel to the 
other. 

“ I ton’t vont to fall py der vater,” said Stummer 
to Ben, as they awaited their turn to board the 
transport. “ I can’t schwim no more as a lump of 
coal,” and he gave a yawn, for guard duty the even- 
ing previous had made him even more sleepy than 
the majority. “I vish I vos home, und dot’s der 
truth,” he concluded — fatal words, as we shall soon 
learn. 

Ten minutes later there was a rush at the gang- 


116 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


plank, Ben pushing forward with the others. Stum- 
mer was just ahead of the young volunteer, his head 
nodding on his breast and his eyes half closed. 
Then came a misstep, a cracking of a light railing, 
and the German dropped into the waters of New 
York harbor. He went down almost silently, and 
immediately disappeared from view. 

“ Stummer’s overboard ! ” cried Ben. Then the 
thought rushed into his head of what the fellow 
had said about being unable to swim. “ He’ll be 
drowned, as sure as fate,” he reasoned. “ But no, 
he shan’t be — not if I can save him,” and a second 
later he, too, was overboard, and battling bravely to 
reach the imperilled man. 



The German dropped into the Waters of New 1 ork Harbor 

Page 116 



CHAPTER XII 


A RESCUE, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 

Although Ben was not such a sailor as were 
Walter and Larry, his two brothers, he was a good 
swimmer, and in days gone by had spent many 
hours in the fresh and wholesome waters of Lake 
Erie. Consequently, he felt perfectly at home 
when he went under the surface, even though the 
water was salt, and he struck out boldly the instant 
he came up. 

Fortunately while on the ferryboat he had di- 
vested himself of his knapsack, overcoat, and gun, 
and these, along with his hat, had been left behind. 
Thus was he free to move, and he made rapid 
progress in the direction in which poor Stummer 
was floating. 

“ Safe me ! Safe me ! ” shrieked the helpless vol- 
unteer, as he threw up his arms wildly. “I can’t 
schwim ! Safe me ! ” 

“ Keep up, Stummer ; I’m coming ! ” answered 
117 


118 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Ben. “ Don’t let the water get into your mouth, 
whatever you do.” 

“Der vater — ’’went on the German. Then he 
stopped abruptly, a gurgle followed, and down he 
went once more, out of sight. 

The scene caused Ben’s heart to leap into his 
throat. “ He’s a goner ! ” he thought. “ Oh, I 
must save him ! I must ! ” And he increased his 
strokes to the utmost. Reaching the spot where 
Stummer had gone down, he peered around sharply. 
Nothing but the darkness of the night, lit up by the 
dancing rays from the ships’ lights, lay along the 
silent waters. 

Ah, what was that — a hand ! Again Ben began 
to swim, to come up to Stummer’s body a second 
later. He touched the hand, and in a twinkle the 
German volunteer had him around the neck and was 
hugging the youth with all the strength of his 
sturdy frame. 

44 Don’t — don’t grab me so tight, Stummer ! ” 
gasped Ben. 44 Don’t — or we’ll both go down ! ” 
He tried to loosen that hold, but in vain. 

44 1 vos trown ! ” came in a splutter. 44 Safe me ! ” 
The unfortunate one was in a frenzy of despair; 
44 Oh, Pen, Pen, ton’t let me go town ! ” 


A RESCUE, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 


119 


“You — must — let — go,” came in a choking 
voice. And then as Stummer let up a bit, Ben 
continued : “ Catch me over the shoulder and under 
one arm, and keep quiet. I can easily float both of 
us until help arrives.” 

But Stummer was in too much mental distress 
to pay attention to what was told him, and as the 
swell from a passing steamboat caught the pair and 
engulfed them he gripped Ben again, and helpless 
to resist, the youth went down with the man. 

What happened immediately afterward, Ben could 
scarcely relate. Down and down he went, until he 
thought he must be near the bottom of the harbor. 
A strange fire danced before his eyes and there was 
a buzzing in his ears. Stummer’s clutch forced him 
to open his mouth, and he gulped down a quantity 
of salt water. 

At last, feeling there was nothing else left to do, 
he brought up his knee and with that and his 
hands forced the German from him. But Stum- 
mer was on top, and when they separated, the be- 
wildered man kicked Ben downward and came up 
alone. 

By this time a small boat had put off from the 
City of Washington. It reached the spot just as 


120 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Stummer’s head showed itself, and in a trice the 
half-drowned fellow was hauled on board. 

“You’ve had a narrow shave,” said the officer in 
charge. “ Where is the other fellow ? ” 

“I — I know me not,” sputtered Stummer, as he 
sank down. “I leaf him py der pottom, I dink.” 
And then he fell back, completely overcome. 

“We must search for the young fellow, lads; it 
will never do to lose him in this fashion,” went on 
the officer to his men, and then began a hunt last- 
ing some time. 

When Ben did come up, more dead than alive, 
he was close to Bedloe’s Island. Far above him 
loomed the giant statue of Liberty Enlightening 
the World. He saw the statue reflected dimly 
against the sky and struck out for shore. After 
what seemed a hopeless struggle he gained a foot- 
ing, and threw himself on the ground exhausted. 

Morning was dawning when the small boat 
stopped at the island, having sought for Ben in 
vain. “He must be drowned,” said the officer, 
with a grave shake of his head. Then he caught 
sight of Ben walking slowly towards the office at 
the steamboat landing. “ Halt there ! Is that you, 
Private Russell ? ” he called out. 


A RESCUE, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 


121 


“ It’s what is left of me,” answered Ben, with an 
attempt at a smile. “Are you looking for me, 
Lieutenant Rowan ? ” 

“I am.” The lieutenant gazed at him keenly. 
“You look as if you’d had a hard time of it.” 

“Never had a harder, sir ; I’m completely fagged 
out.” 

“ And where were you going just now ? ” 

“To the landing, to see when I could get a 
passage over to the city,” answered Ben, without 
stopping to think how this reply might be inter- 
preted. 

“Well, I guess you’ll come with me now,” went 
on the officer, coldly. 

“Certainly I will.” Ben was a little puzzled by 
the tone of voice employed. “I was going to get 
a boat at the Battery to row me to the City of 
Washington .” 

“ Indeed ! ” came in a sneer. “ I reckon you’ll 
have a hard job making Captain Blank believe 
that yarn.” 

“I don’t understand — ” Ben stopped short. 
“ Gracious, you don’t think I was trying to 
desert ! ” he cried. 

“It looks a good deal that way, Russell.” 


122 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ It’s not true, sir ; I’ll give you my word. I 
leaped overboard to save Stummer. He, poor 
fellow — ” 

“ Stummer is safe — we picked him up over an 
hour ago.” 

“ Thank Heaven for that ! ” returned Ben, re- 
lieved to think his comrade in arms was safe. 
“No, sir, I never dreamed of deserting,” he con- 
tinued. “Why, I’m just as anxious as anybody to 
get a chance at the Spaniards ! ” 

“ In that case, why did you swim away after we 
picked up the German ? ” 

“Why — I — I — ” 

“ Tell the truth, young man,” and the officer 
looked more stern than ever. 

“I was worn out — dazed — Stummer kicked me, 
I think — and I didn’t know exactly what I was 
doing. When I recovered I hardly knew I was 
on Liberty Island.” 

“ W ell, get into the boat, and you can explain 
matters to your captain. I can tell you he doesn’t 
much like the looks of tilings.” 

Still fatigued, and now sick at heart, Ben did 
as directed, and the sailors at the oars started for 
the transport without delay. Once or twice the 


A RESCUE, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 


123 


officer started to speak, but checked himself, and 
Ben asked no questions. The City of Washington 
gained, a rope ladder was thrown over the side, 
and all hands clambered on deck. 

“ Hullo, Ben, safe after all ! ” sang out Frank, 
rushing up. “I’m mighty glad to hear it.” 

“ And so am I glad,” put in Casey, with a broad 
grin on his honest face. “You’re too fine a young 
sodger to make food fer fishes, so ye are ! ” 

“ Where is Stummer ? ” asked the youth, quickly. 

“ Down in his bunk, poor fellow. The doctor 
says unless he is kept quiet he may go out of his 
head. He moans about being saved all the time,” 
answered Frank. 

Captain Blank now came up, having paused to 
speak to the officer who had brought Ben aboard. 
His face was drawn and his eyes flashed fire. 

“ Private Russell, I did not think this of you,” 
he said bitterly, as he pulled at his waxed mous- 
tache. 

“Did not think what of me, captain? That I 
would leap to poor Stummer’s rescue?” 

“No; that you would try to get away after the 
fellow was hauled aboard the rowboat.” 

“I did not try to get away.” 


124 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Lieutenant Rowan says you did, and so do sev- 
eral others. If you did not, why didn’t you come 
aboard the boat, instead of swimming for the 
statue ? ” 

“ I don’t remember seeing the boat. I was 
dazed, just as I told the lieutenant.” 

“ Your tale is weak, Russell. I knew some of 
the men were timid now we were actually bound 
for the South, but I did not think any of my 
men would desert.” Captain Blank hesitated. 
“ Russell, you may consider yourself under ar- 
rest.” 

“ Oh, captain ! ” The cry came straight from 
Ben’s heart. Under arrest ! The thought was 
agonizing — and after his motive for leaping over- 
board had been so noble ! 

“ It’s no use making a scene. Sergeant Bulkley, 
you will take charge of the prisoner. See that 
he is placed under a guard of two men, in the 
forward part of the lower deck. I’ll investigate 
more fully in the morning,” and Captain Blank 
strode away. 

Ben stood dumfounded, and Frank was aghast. 
“Great Ciesar, Ben, what does it mean?” burst 
from the under-officer. 


A RESCUE, AND WHAT FOLLOWED 


125 


“It means that Captain Blank is a — a — never 
mind — he’s made a mistake. I am under arrest, 
and you are my jailer.” 

“ But I don’t want to be, Ben ; it’s the hardest 
job I ever tackled in my life,” pleaded the young 
sergeant. 

“ I believe you, Frank ; but it can’t be helped. 
You must obey orders, or you’ll be in disgrace, 
too. Where am I to go ? ” 

“ Down where they have set off a sort of lock-up. 
There are two soldiers there now, from other com- 
panies, accused of drinking too much.” 

Side by side the sergeant and his prisoner de- 
scended to the lower deck of the transport. Here 
resounded the sounds of hammer and saw,'" for the 
carpenters were not yet through fitting up the ship 
to accommodate the soldiers. Ben looked around 
somewhat curiously, remembering that the City of 
Washington had been lying in Havana harbor at the 
time the Maine was blown up and had assisted in 
the work of rescuing the survivors of that dire 
calamity. 

“Here we are,” said Frank, at length, as they 
halted before what was little better than a pen 
built of rough boards. Inside were a couple of 


126 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


benches, upon each of which slept one of the other 
prisoners, snoring loudly. 

“ I’ll not disturb them,” said Ben, and started to 
rest himself on the floor, but Frank brought him 
a straw mattress and also his blanket and some 
dry clothing. 

“As long as you’re in my charge you shall be 
as comfortable as any of us,” he said. 

Many soldiers had gone to rest, and now the 
carpenters withdrew and orders were to keep quiet, 
so nothing more was said. With a heart as heavy 
as lead, Ben threw himself down and finally fell 
into a troubled sleep. 


CHAPTER XIII 


TO TAMPA BY BAIL 

The loud roll of a drum within the narrow 
confines of the ship roused Ben with a start. He 
sat up and rubbed his eyes. Where was he ? 

For the second he could not think. Then came 
the full recollection of what had occurred, and 
again his heart sank within him. He looked around 
and found his fellow-prisoners just stirring. 

“ Don’t we get anything to eat ? ” growled one, 
presently. 

“No rations on board yet,” answered a guard. 
“You’re no worse off than any Qf the other 
soldiers.” 

“ Humph ! When I enlisted I didn’t think Uncle 
Sam was going to starve me.” 

“And Uncle Sam didn’t think you were going 
to get drunk,” was the sharp reply. “You’ve dis- 
graced our company, Walton — it’s a shame.” 

“It was my friends — they treated too much,” 
127 


128 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


answered Walton, with a red face. “ Hang treating 
anyway ; it’s all wrong. What’s the captain going 
to do with us ? ” 

“ I don’t know.” 

At that moment the captain in question came 
along. He peered into the pen, and seeing his 
two men awake paused. At once Walton leaped 
forward. 

“ Captain ! ” The word was spoken pleadingly. 

“ Well, Walton ? ” 

“I — that is — say, captain, I made an awful fool 
of myself, didn’t I ? ” 

“You did, Walton.” 

“ I’m not going to do it again, captain, ’pon my 
word of honor, I am not. It was my friends — 
they insisted on treating me, until I didn’t know 
myself.” 

“ Such friends are enemies, W alton ; for under 
the guise of good-fellowship they have gotten you 
into serious trouble.” 

“ I know it, captain ; but it shall not happen 
again. I’ll take the pledge first ; yes, I will ! ” 

“ You are quite sure you’ll behave yourself ? ” 

“ Positive of it, captain ; try me and see,” pleaded 
Walton, with greater earnestness than ever. 


TO TAMPA BY BAIL 


129 


“ And what of yon, Harm well ? ” 

“I won’t get drunk again, sir.” The other 
soldier hung his head. “An old chum of mine 
presented me with a flask of brandy, and I was 
cold and drank more than was good for me before 
I knew it. I wish I had heaved the flask overboard 
— now. I didn’t want to — to — disgrace our regi- 
ment.” 

“Your friend might as well have given you a 
serpent,” answered the captain, who was a strong 
advocate of temperance. “Drunkenness is one of 
the worst evils the army has to contend with. 
Will you both promise to keep straight in the 
future, no matter what the temptation ? ” 

“Yes, yes, captain,” came from the pair, quickly. 

“ Then you may consider yourselves discharged,” 
and after a few more words of advice, the captain 
walked on, and the men hurried from the pen. 

Left to himself, Ben sat down on one of the 
benches, to give himself up to his bitter reflec- 
tions. A number of his comrades of the company 
came up and attempted to hold conversations with 
him, but this the guards would not allow. 

The City of Washington still rode at anchor, nor 
did she move after a supply boat had come along- 


130 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


side and delivered a large quantity of stores. The 
rations were attacked with avidity, and it was 
Frank who brought Ben the best meal thus 
afforded. 

“ Captain Blank will be to see you soon,” said 
the sergeant. “ J ust now he is in conference with 
the colonel.” 

“And how is Stummer?” 

“Very much better.” 

“We haven’t moved from the harbor yet,” went 
on Ben. “ What’s the reason ? ” 

“I don’t know, excepting the authorities may 
be afraid to send us south by water. That Spanish 
fleet that is somewhere on the Atlantic might 
gobble us up.” 

It was towards evening that Captain Blank 
came down, somewhat out of breath, for he had 
been ashore transacting a large amount of busi- 
ness connected with the quartermaster’s department. 

“Now, Russell, we’ll get at the bottom of this 
affair,” he said, as he sat down. “ Tell me your story.” 

In a few well-chosen words Ben did so. “I 
never dreamed of running away,” he concluded. 
“My one thought was to save Stummer. I did 
my level best, and this is the result of it.” 


TO TAMPA BY RAIL 


131 


“Didn’t you express the wish, just before you 
went overboard, that you might be safe in your 
bed at home, or something like it ? ” 

“No, sir, Stummer said that. He was worn out 
and sleepy. I believe he will acknowledge it.” 

“ Did he really tumble overboard ? ” 

“To be sure he did. Why, he can’t swim a 
stroke. I knew that, and that’s why I jumped 
in after him.” 

“ I was led to believe both of you tried to 
escape, and that Stummer’s story that he cannot 
swim is false.” 

“ The story is true — a dozen of our soldiers can 
vouch for it. As for myself, if I had wanted to 
desert, I could easily have done so in Long Island 
City, when I was sent up to the dock to look for 
this vessel.” 

“I know that is true.” 

« I don’t want to desert, Captain Blank. I 
want to go to Cuba and make a record for 
myself against those Spaniards,” continued the 
young volunteer, earnestly. “I enlisted of my 
own free will, and I’m going to stick it out to the 
end, no matter what comes.” 

For half a minute the captain gazed sharply 


132 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


into that youthful and truthful face. It was 
beyond all question that Ben was not deceiving 
him. Slowly he held out his hand. 

“ I guess I was rather hasty with you, Russell,” 
he said. “ At any rate, I will let the present 
charge drop. If you really jumped overboard only 
to save Stummer, it was very noble in you. It 
would pain me very much to think one of my boys 
was trying to desert. Come.” And he led the 
way out of the pen. 

Five minutes later Ben was among his friends 
again, with Frank, Casey, and Peter Wilkens 
almost hugging him. “ I knew it would come out 
all right ! ” cried the young sergeant. “ The idea 
of arresting you for deserting ! They had better 
arrest you for trying to get to Cuba before the 
rest of us.” 

“ It was Holgait set the captain up to it,” said 
Casey. “ He doesn’t like Ben, for Ben got out of 
the awkward squad before he did.” 

Holgait was one of the clerks who had joined 
the company the same evening Ben was passed. 
He was a tall, lean fellow, something of a dude, 
and being rich, considered himself of more impor- 
tance than his comrades. “ I don’t see — ah — why 


TO TAMPA BY BAIL 


183 


the captain wanted to take in those common fel- 
lows, don’t you know,” Ben had once heard Hol- 
gait remark to his particular chum, Montgomery 
Dwight. “Why couldn’t we have all Wall Street 
chaps, and not store clerks and workingmen ? ” 
And ever after that there had been a coldness be- 
tween Ben and the would-be exclusive. 

“ Are you sure it was Holgait ? ” answered Ben, 
quickly. “ If it was, I’ll go and give him a piece 
of my mind.” 

“ Don’t do it,” urged Frank. “ It will do no 
good, and only cause more trouble. The best we 
fellows can do is to let Holgait and Dwight severely 
alone.” And Ben finally agreed. 

All had become bustle and confusion on the 
transport, for word had just come in that the 
regiment was to be transferred to Jersey City, 
where it was to take cars on the Pennsylvania rail- 
road south, in company with the Massachusetts 
troops. Knapsacks were again packed, blankets 
rolled, and several days’ rations were dealt out to 
each man — a considerable additional load. 

“We had a pleasant little thing happen while 
you were below,” remarked Frank to Ben, while 
at work. “ The Empire State Society of the Sons 


134 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


of the Revolution presented our regiment with a 
handsome silk flag. It’s enough to make every 
man feel proud, I can tell you that.” 

44 May it be the first flag to wave from a Spanish 
stronghold,” answered Ben. 44 And I’ll do my 
best to place it there,” he added. 

It was nearly midnight ere the transport started 
for Jersey City, for the many cars required by 
the various troops could not be gotten together in 
a hurry. At the dock, despite the lateness of the 
hour, a crowd of many thousands was assembled. 

44 Remember the Maine ! Hurrah ! ” yelled a 
barefooted newsboy, waving a United States flag 
in one hand and a Cuban flag in the other. 
44 Three cheers for the sodgers wot is going to fight 
fer the single star ! ” There was a laugh, and the 
cheer which followed soon swelled into a roar. 

44 Going to fight for the single star ? ” said Ben. 
44 That’s true ! Cuba Libre ! as our island friends 
put it,” and he shook his head enthusiastically. 

The crowd did not stop at cheering. When the 
soldiers were in the cars, many came up to the 
windows, offering fruit and other delicacies. One 
aged lady had baked several pies and cut them into 
numerous small pieces, and these disappeared like 


TO TAMPA BY RAIL 


135 


magic. Girls came, too, with flowers and other 
things, and in return for their gifts begged the vol- 
unteers for buttons from their coats, as keepsakes. 
One bright-eyed little dame, coming in empty- 
handed, offered a kiss for every button, and she 
went out with an apronful. These buttons are 
to-day highly treasured in many homes. 

And then came the moment for starting. With 
a long whistle the engine moved forward a few 
feet, there was a wild rush on the part of those 
wanting to get on and those wanting to get off 
of the train, and then came a cheer as the engine 
started a second time and the long train moved 
out of the station yard. 

“ We’re off ! ” came the cry. “ We’re off ! Hur- 
rah ! ” And the drum corps set up a loud beating. 

“ Poor Stummer ! ” said Ben ; for the German had 
been the only one left behind, to rejoin the regi- 
ment later, should he fully recover from the shock 
his system had received. 

“ He’ll be with us again soon,” answered Frank. 
“Good-by to home. May we return victorious and 
as happy as we now are ! Hurrah ! ” 

Alas, poor, Frank ! Little did he dream of all 
that was in store for himself and his friends, the 


136 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


untold hardships, the fierce fighting ; nor did he 
give a thought to those who were to be left dead 
and dying upon the smoky battlefield. The going 
away was a happy time ; the return, ah, how dif- 
ferent that was to be ! 


CHAPTER XIV 


AMONG THE PINES OF FLORIDA 

As many of my young readers must know, Tampa 
is situated upon the western coast of Florida, at 
the head of Tampa Bay and overlooking the Gulf 
of Mexico. Close to Tampa is Lakeland, something 
of a winter resort, and it was at these two places 
that a large number of the United States troops 
were assembling, while more bodies of soldiers were 
being rushed to Chattanooga Park in Tennessee, 
Falls Church, Virginia, and other places of lesser 
importance. 

It was soon learned that Ben’s regiment was to 
go into camp at Lakeland, and that the journey 
southward would occupy at least four days, so there 
was plenty of time in which to “take things easy,” 
as the young volunteer expressed it. Day after day 
the soldier boys sat and talked and looked out of 
the car windows, while they hurried on, leaving 
Baltimore, Washington, Charleston, and other cities 
137 


138 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


behind. Soon Ben noticed it was growing warmer. 
“We’ll soon be in the land that knows no winter,” 
he remarked. 

Whenever a stop was made a crowd would gather 
around, to cheer and to ask questions. It was easy 
at such times to procure all the newspapers desired, 
free of cost, and many hours were spent in reading 
and in digesting the somewhat mixed-up war 
news. 

“ Gracious ! but these reports from the front 
are mighty conflicting,” said Frank, once, as he 
threw down a sensational sheet in disgust. “ Yes- 
terday this paper said the Spanish fleet was off the 
coast of Venezuela; to-day it states it has been 
sighted near San Domingo. What is a fellow to 
believe ? ” 

Ben laughed. “You are to believe that the sen- 
sational newspapers are merely guessing, Frank. 
They don’t know any more than Ave do. Perhaps 
the government knows, but it is not letting the 
information out. If possible, Sampson and Schley 
are going to creep on Cervera’s fleet and destroy 
it, just as DeAvey did Avith Montojo, at Manila.” 

“ I don’t believe such a Auctory can be dupli- 
cated,” returned the young sergeant ; but he Avas 


AMONG THE PINES OF FLORIDA 


139 


mistaken, as he was to learn ere the campaign in 
Cuba came to an end. 

On arriving at Lakeland the regiment lost no 
time in going into camp among the odoriferous 
pines. Already a great number of troops had settled 
down there, troops commanded by Major General 
Joseph M. Wheeler, well known during the Civil 
War as one of the Confederacy’s most daring cavalry 
leaders. Thus was the line between North and 
South wiped out, and blue and gray stood once more 
shoulder to shoulder beneath Old Glory. 

“ I don’t know whether this is better than Camp 
Black or not,” remarked Ben, when the regiment 
had been marched out to a long stretch of sand, 
with here and there a clump of pines. “I know 
one thing, and that is that it’s mighty hot.” 

“Stopping here will temper us for a hot cam- 
paign in Cuba,” laughed Frank. “ What a sleepy 
old town Tampa appears to be ! I trust they don’t 
keep us here long.” 

Inside of twenty-four hours the soldier boys felt 
once more at home. They were encamped in the 
vicinity of a number of regulars, men who had seen 
many years of active service in the W est, — at the 
Indian reservations and on the frontier, — and Ben 


140 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


viewed these troops with interest. 44 They know 
what it is to shoot and be shot at,” he said. At 
first the regulars sniffed at the coming of the volun- 
teers. 44 They won’t be able to do much,” was what 
they said. But after a while all were on friendly 
terms. 

It was on the third day at Lakeland that Frank 
came running up to Ben with a San Antonio, Texas, 
paper in his hand. 44 Here’s bad news of Gilbert 
Pennington,” he cried. 44 Poor fellow ! and after 
all the hopes he had of going to Cuba.” 

The paper contained an account of the Rough 
Riders, who were getting together at San Antonio. 
They were composed of Western cowboys, South- 
western ranchmen and trailers, with a fair sprink- 
ling of rich young men from the East who were 
known to be perfect athletes and used to horseman- 
ship. The drilling of this body had started at San 
Antonio that day, near the Exhibition Hall, and 
half a dozen wild horses had broken away, and as 
a result four men had been sent to the hospital, 
Gilbert Pennington among the number. 

44 1 wonder if Gilbert is seriously hurt ? ” said Ben, 
after reading the account carefully. 44 The newspaper 
doesn’t say. I’ll write to him at once.” And he did. 


AMONG THE PINES OF FLORIDA 


141 


The regiment had been located near Lake Morton, 
a small but crystal-like sheet of water, in which all 
the soldier boys wished to bathe. But this was not 
allowed ; for, although there were three good wells 
near by, the great influx of troops might render it 
necessary to use the lake water for drinking pur- 
poses. With it all, however, there is no doubt but 
that many a dip w^as taken on the sly. 

Ben soon found that military routine on Hemp- 
stead Plains had been easy beside what was now ex- 
pected of him. Strict discipline, as it was known 
in the regular army, was the order of the day, and 
many were the marches and drills that took place. 
Shooting from hastily constructed intrenchment pits 
was also practised, and an exceedingly hot day was 
given over to a big sham battle. In this Ben was 
placed in the skirmish line, beside Casey and the 
foppish Gerald Holgait. 

“ I don’t see why they want us to work like 
niggers in this sun,” growled Holgait, lagging be- 
hind the others. “ It’s not something that’s got to 
be done.” 

“ The government wants to make good soldiers of 
us,” answered Ben, cheerfully. 

“ We’re good enough soldiers now.” 


142 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Sure an’ the ginirals don’t know that,” put in 
Casey. “ When they see you drillin’ they’ll take off 
their hats and beg your pardon for askin’ — ” 

“None of your banter, Casey,” burst out Holgait, 
wrathfully. “This may suit a — ah — common fel- 
low like you, but for a gentleman like me — ” 

“ Arrah, I’m as much of a gent as you,” ejaculated 
Casey, his hot Hibernian blood rising, and rushing 
forward he tripped Holgait over into a swamp hole. 
“ Take that for the compliment you’re after payin’ 
me.” 

It took Holgait several seconds to recover, and 
crawl from the hole, with his arm and side covered 
with black dirt. He spluttered a great deal and 
promised to have revenge not only upon Casey, but 
also on Ben, who had been unable to keep from 
laughing at the scene. 

When the sham battle was at an end, Ben was 
exhausted, while it was found that poor Peter 
Wilkens, who had heretofore appeared so tough, had 
been prostrated and taken in charge by the ambu- 
lance corps. Peter lay in the hospital for ten days 
and came forth hardly the shadow of his former 
self. 

“ I used to think it wuz hard ploughin’ up to hum,” 


AMONG THE PINES OF FLOKIDA 


143 


he said. 44 But, say, ploughin’ ain’t no circumstance 
to this sort o’ thing. I’d ruther plough the stoniest 
field ever wuz than go through sech a fight ag’in.” 

44 But you’ll have to fight like that when we get 
to Cuba, Peter,” returned Ben. He had been down 
to town on a pass and had brought the sufferer some 
fruit. 

44 1 suppose so, Ben ; but then that will be real 
fightin’, an’ the risk you run will keep a fellow up.” 

During these days in camp, news was received 
that the dreaded Spanish fleet whose whereabouts 
had been unknown had been located in the harbor 
of Santiago de Cuba. Upon learning of this, the 
authorities made instant preparations to blockade 
Santiago, just as Havana was being blockaded, and 
some of our heaviest warships were hurried hither, 
to do the Spanish fleet battle should it attempt to 
come out. 

“Why don’t our battleships go into the harbor 
for them, just as Dewey did at Manila ? ” remarked 
Frank, on hearing the news. 

44 1 asked Captain Blank the same question,” 
answered Ben. a He says the harbor is eight miles 
long, and the entrance is very narrow and crooked, 
so that only one ship could go in at a time and that 


144 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


very slowly. Right at the entrance, behind a strong 
wall of rocks, stands Morro Castle, a first-class 
fortress, and the guns there could blow any vessel 
that tried to go in clean out of the water.” 

“ In that case Sampson, Schley, and Watson will 
have to reduce Morro Castle before anything else 
can be done.” 

“Yes; unless Cervera’s fleet comes out to do 
them battle, or escapes before the blockade is strong 
enough to hold him.” 

“ I’ve heard something of our going to Santiago 
instead of Havana,” went on the young sergeant. 
“ I wonder if it’s true ? ” 

“ Perhaps ; the war department is not going to 
give its plans away, though. I learned } T esterday 
that all the news from here to the newspapers has 
been cut off. That certainly means something.” 

“ That was done partly because the newspaper men 
printed a report of the Gussie sailing for Cuba with 
stores and arms for the insurgents. The Spaniards 
found it out, and, as a consequence, the expedition 
proved a failure. Of course folks want the news, 
but I don’t think they ought to have it if it is going 
to seriously interfere with the war board’s plan of 
operation.” 


AMONG THE PINES OF FLORIDA 


145 


Major General Miles, commander of the United 
States Army, was now expected daily. Many of his 
staff had already arrived, including General William 
R. Shafter, a man of notable executive ability, who, 
later on, was placed in charge of the Cuban expedi- 
tion. 

“Shall we ever get off?” Such was the ques- 
tion which went the rounds day after day, as the 
soldiers lay out in the hot sun, or withdrew to 
their tents during the heavy tropical showers. 
The waiting was a fearful strain, and more than 
one desertion occurred, for with nothing to do 
men grew homesick. Many of the officers put up 
at the luxurious hotels, and passed the time much 
more pleasantly in consequence, yet they, too, 
wanted to move. This was what was afterwards 
facetiously designated as the u rocking-chair ” period 
of the war. But the wait was unavoidable, for 
to move an army to Cuba necessitated the use of 
many ships, and suitable vessels could not be pro- 
cured at a moment’s notice. 


CHAPTER XV 

AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 

“Well, if this doesn’t beat the nation! Hurrah 
for Larry ! He has done more than either Walter 
or myself ! ” 

It was Ben who spoke, rushing up to Frank 
with a letter in his hand as he did so. “Here’s 
news from my youngest brother, all the way from 
Hong Kong,” he went on, his eyes shining proudly. 
“He was at Manila with Dewey, — just think of 
that ! ” 

“What!” ejaculated Frank. He had heard all 
about Larry and Walter. “Let’s see the letter, 
— if it’s not of a private nature,” and receiving it 
he devoured it almost as anxiously as Ben had 
done. “ Your brother is a — a brick ! ” he said, 
enthusiastically. “ He’s had a pile of adventures, 
too, — lost on the ocean and cast away on an island 
with that old sailor. It’s a wonder he didn’t re- 
main with Commodore Dewey.” 

146 


AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 


147 


“ He wanted to find out about his ship and 
about the fellow who heaved him overboard, I 
reckon, Frank. He says he doesn’t know whether 
he’ll go back to the Asiatic Squadron or not. 
And this letter was written a month ago, too. 
He’s back or on his way to the States long before 
this.” 

The letter was a thick one of over twenty pages, 
and in it Larry had recounted all those wonder- 
ful happenings as set forth in “Under Dewey at 
Manila.” Ben had to read the letter several times, 
and then he passed it to Casey and the others, 
and it even went up to Captain Blank and Colo- 
nel Downs, the new commandant of the regiment. 
Every one was interested in reading about that 
great conflict on the other side of the world. 

“You Russell boys are all in this war,” laughed 
Frank. “I suppose Walter is already on the 
Brooklyn and after Cervera.” 

The communication from Larry impressed Ben 
deeply. If his youngest brother could do so 
much, he must look to his colors. “ I’ll do my 
level best,” he murmured. “And if honors are 
to be won, I’ll come out with shoulder straps, or 
know the reason why.” And after that many 


148 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


a spare moment, which had formerly been idled 
away, was spent in studying infantry tactics and 
a guide to the duties of officers. 

The transports for the troops were now coming 
into the harbor, several new ones every day, until 
there was a fleet of them. Some were in proper 
trim for sailing and some were not, and all day 
long came the sounds of workmen on board, while 
immense quantities of army stores also arrived. 

At Tampa, Ben came into contact with a num- 
ber of Cubans, the first he had seen. They were 
not an active set, and seemed much depressed in 
spirits, although very polite. “ I suppose a good 
many of them have lost their homes and they 
hardly care what happens next,” he thought, and 
he was more than half right. 

On the day previous to going aboard the transport 
which was to receive their regiment, Ben and Frank 
obtained permission to pay a visit to the town. 
Frank had just received a remittance from home, 
and Ben had some of his last wages left, and both 
intended to expend their money in the purchase 
of some necessary articles of wearing-apparel, and 
in a first-class dinner, — “The last we’ll most likely 
get for a long time to come,” as Frank put it. 


AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 


149 


On account of the encampment, the town had 
filled up with peddlers, sharpers, and rough charac- 
ters, and it was with some difficulty that they made 
their way to a furnishing store and procured what 
was wanted. This done, they set out to hunt up a 
restaurant where a good meal might be had at a 
reasonable price. 

“This looks all right,” said Ben, halting before 
a modest-looking place, and pointing to an oilcloth 
sign which read as follows : — 

SOLDIERS’ REST 
A First-class Dinner for 50 Cents 
Three Courses, including Pie and Coffee 

“Let’s go in,” said Frank. “I haven’t had pie 
in a month, and I’ve lost all knowledge of how a 
course dinner tastes.” And they entered and took 
a seat at a rear table. 

A colored waiter soon came forward. “Your 
order, gents, if you please. ” 

“ Bring on your course dinner,” returned Frank, 
and Ben nodded to signify he would have the same. 
Soon the waiter returned with a big bowl of soup 
for each. 


150 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Creation ! but it’s mighty peppery,” observed 
Frank, as he smacked his lips. “ Must have let 
slip the cover of the pepper box when they seasoned 
it.” 

“ It’s as good as the half-cooked stuff we had last 
week, Frank. The meat is fresh, too.” 

The soup was not yet finished when the waiter 
came back. “ Will you gents have any roast beef 
and any fried sweet potatoes ? ” was his next ques- 
tion. 

“Now I’m with you!” cried Ben. “Sorry I 
almost filled up on that soup,” he added to his 
chum. “ Roast beef always did hit me just right.” 

“And sweets are my especial favorites.” 

The additional dishes were not long in coming, 
and the two pitched in with renewed vigor. “ I 
shall recommend this restaurant to all of the other 
boys. The proprietor is about the only man around 
here to give a fellow his money’s worth,” observed 
Frank. 

“Will you gents have any peas or beans?” It 
was the waiter again ; and Frank and Ben winked at 
each other. “Both, please,” came in unison, and 
the colored man went off, but there was an odd look 
on his ebony-like face. The peas and beans were 


AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 


151 


almost too much for the young soldiers, hut, deter- 
mined not to “ miss a good thing,” as Ben expressed 
it, they stowed away a fair portion of the vegetables. 

“The man who runs such a restaurant as this 
ought to have a monument erected to his memory 
when he dies,” went on Frank, and then he ordered 
his pie and coffee, and these things were brought for 
both. 

They had about finished ; and Ben had just made 
some remark about “ feeling about ready to burst,” 
when the waiter came up with a check for each. 
Both gave a look, and both uttered a cry of dismay. 

u What’s this — a dollar and fifteen cents ! ” gasped 
Frank. “ Why, I only had a course dinner at fifty 
cents.” 

“No, sah, beg pardon, sah,” answered the waiter, 
politely but firmly. “The course dinner is soup, 
pie, and coffee, sah.” 

“Well, I never!” returned the young sergeant. 
“You say three courses on your bill-board outside.” 

“Yes, sah — three courses — soup, pie, and coffee.” 

“It’s a swindle,” put in Ben, firmly. “We said 
we wanted a course dinner, and I want a check for 
fifty cents.” 

“ Can’t give it to you, sah. You had a course 


152 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


dinner at fifty cents, and roast beef, sweet potatoes, 
peas, and beans, making exactly sixty-five cents 
extra.” 

“ Ha ! ha ! a good joke, by Jove ! ” came from 
near by ; and turning, Ben and Frank saw Gerald 
Holgait and his crony, Montgomery Dwight, sit- 
ting at a neighboring table. 

“Very good joke,” drawled Dwight. “I rather 
think they haven’t money enough to pay with, 
though.” 

The remark made Ben’s cheeks burn. “I have 
all the money I need, Dwight,” he said. “ I’ll not 
thank you to insult me.” 

“ Oh, don’t get on a liigh-horse, Russell. If you’ve 
got the money, pay your bill and drop it.” 

“ I will pay my bill — when I am ready. ” 

“ Yes, — and you can keep your mouth shut about 
it,” added Frank ; and not daring to say more, 
since Frank was a sergeant, Montgomery Dwight 
turned again to the fried chicken setting before his 
plate. “ The common beggars ! ” he muttered to 
Holgait, and the foppish one squinted his eye in 
token of assent. 

Leaving their table, Ben and Frank marched up 
to the desk where sat the proprietor of the res- 



YOU SHELL OUT, AND BE PRECIOUS QUICK ABOUT IT Page 153 







AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 


153 


taurant, a thin-faced, grasping-looking individual. 
“We want to settle our bill,” said Ben. “We 
ordered a course dinner, but your waiter brought us 
extras, and now he wants us to pay for them.” 

“ W ell, you expect to pay for extras, don’t you ? ” 
was the question put. 

“Not unless they are mentioned as extras.” 

“Indeed? Well, I reckon you will pay. I’m 
not running this restaurant for fun.” 

By this time Frank had a silver dollar in his 
hand. “ There is your dollar for two dinners,” he 
said, flinging it on the desk. “You’ll get no more 
out of us. Come, Ben.” And he caught his chum 
by the arm. 

As quick as a wink the man was over the desk 
and had Frank by the arm. “ I’m a Westerner, and 
I’m handy with a gun,” he cried. “You shell out ; 
and be precious quick about it.” 

He thought he could intimidate the pair, but he 
was mistaken. Both stood their ground, and Ben 
caught the hand that held Frank. 

“You let my friend alone,” he said in a clear, 
cold tone. “ Let him alone, I say.” And he pulled 
the hand back. 

“ You’ll pay up or I’ll have you arrested,” blus- 


154 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


tered the restaurant keeper. “ I just saw a police- 
man pass.” 

“He won’t dare to arrest us,” answered Frank. 
“ If he should, I’ll refer our case to General 
Shatter, if needs be, and expose you. Your man- 
ner of serving people is not fair.” 

“I know my own business best. You’ll pay — ” 

“Not another cent. Now let us pass.” 

Ben and Frank moved for the door. The restau- 
rant keeper was in a rage, yet there was something 
in those two pairs of steady eyes which daunted 
him. In another second the chums were outside, 
and the man went back to his desk. “ Hang it, 
the trick don’t work on all of ’em ! ” he muttered, 
and threw the dollar in his cash drawer. The waiter 
had wisely withdrawn to the vicinity of the kitchen. 

“What a sell ! ” burst out Frank, when they were 
out of hearing. “ I’ll wager he has roped in many a 
poor fellow looking for a square meal at a moderate 
price.” 

“ I’m going to fix up his sign for him,” answered 
Ben, bringing out a heavy lead pencil. Returning 
unobserved to the front of the restaurant, he crossed 
out the word “ including ” and substituted the word 
“ Soup,” so that the sign read : “ A First-class Din- 


AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE 


155 


ner for 50 Cents. Three courses, — Soup, Pie, and 
Coffee.” 

Frank laughed heartily. “Good for you. The 
sign now tells the exact truth.” The change was 
not noticed by the restaurant keeper for the rest of 
the day, and he wondered how it was that his 
patronage fell off so greatly. 


CHAPTER XVI 

OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 

“ Dree cheers for der Seventy-first ! Of I ain’t 
glad to git pack py der poys, den I ton’t know 
noddings ! ” 

Carl Stummer had reached Tampa by rail that 
morning and had lost no time in making his way 
to the spot where his company was breaking camp. 
A crowd instantly surrounded him, and everybody 
wanted to shake hands, for the good-natured Ger- 
man volunteer was well liked. 

“ Yah, I vos as glad as I can pe to git me pack,” 
went on Stummer. “Vere is Pen Russell?” 

“Here I am, Stummer.” And the youth pushed 
his way forward. “I’m glad to see you have said 
good-by to the hospital.” 

“ Oh, Pen ! Pen ! you safed mine life ! ” burst 
out the German, and tears stood in his blue eyes. 
“And den to dink da arrested you for tryin’ to 
desert ! Da vos grasy ! You vos von prafe poy — 
156 


OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 


157 


some tay you vill pe a captain, and den I vill 
say to deni, 4 See, dot is der feller vot safed mine life 
alretty and nefer treamed of running away.’ ” And 
he almost hugged the young volunteer. 

Even Captain Blank was glad to see Stummer 
back. The fellow always had a pleasant face, even 
when he grumbled, and had brightened up many a 
weary evening around the camp-fire by telling funny 
stories and by singing songs in his native language. 
He and Casey had been voted “ a team ” long ago. 

“ Me darling Stummer ! ” was the way the Irish- 
man expressed himself. “ The saints be blessed 
that I’m not to go to your funeral just yet. It’s 
ourselves will kill a whole regiment of Spaniards as 
soon as we land in Cuby, ain’t that so now ? ” And 
Stummer nodded and smiled more than ever. 

News had arrived in camp which set all tongues 
to speculating upon what would happen next. Since 
the Spanish fleet had been located in Santiago Bay 
fierce fighting had been indulged in between the 
American warships and the enemy’s forts in that 
vicinity, and now, having reduced the fortifications 
at Guantanamo, a body of marines from the battle- 
ship Oregon had effected a landing on the coast and 
hoisted the American flag. The marines num- 


158 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


bered but forty, yet they held their ground against 
several companies of Spaniards until six hundred 
marines from another of our ships came to re- 
enforce them. 

“ We’ve got a foothold in Cuba now ! ” cried Ben, 
enthusiastically. “ Hurrah for the first fellow to fly 
Old Glory down there ! ” 

“ Where is Guantanamo ? ” questioned Frank. 
“I must say my knowledge of Cuba is a bit 
hazy.” 

“ Guantanamo is a small town located on a bay 
of the same name, not many miles east of Santiago 
Bay, on the southeast coast of Cuba, Frank. It’s 
quite an important point from the fact that the rail- 
road running westward through the island starts 
from that locality.” 

“ I see. More than likely, then, since the railroad 
is there and we’ve got a foothold at that point, all 
our troops will be rushed to that vicinity.” 

“ Exactly. I’ll tell you what I think, — the war- 
ships are to bombard Santiago from the front, while 
we are to land at Guantanamo and come up to San- 
tiago in the rear. Thus the place will be caught 
between two fires and will have to surrender, — 
and then it will be a case of give up or come out 


OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 


159 


of the harbor and fight, for Cervera’s fleet,” con- 
cluded Ben. 

At last came the hour for the brigade to go 
aboard the troopships assigned for that purpose. 
It was a busy scene, for many things were to be 
done, and there was no telling how long the voyage 
was to last or what might befall on the trip. In 
addition to the fleet “ bottled up ” in Santiago har- 
bor, the Spanish had a number of other war-vessels, 
now lying in European waters, and it was not known 
but that these might swoop down on the outgoing 
flotilla and force a tremendous battle at sea. 

The troopships and baggage transports numbered 
thirty-two, all large vessels with the single excep- 
tion of a schooner, which was towed along, filled 
with drinking-water, for water must be had, and 
there was small space to stow it elsewhere. On 
board each ship every available corner was fitted 
up with a pine cot and a mattress, that the soldiers 
might have resting-places during the nights. Yet 
during that blazing hot spell which came upon the 
ships while at sea, many a man was willing to sleep 
on the bare deck, or go up into one of the tops for a 
breeze. 

When the flotilla swept out of Tampa Bay it was 


160 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


accompanied by a guard of five warships, but at 
Key West the guard was increased to fourteen war- 
ships, — a fleet in itself, — ready to do battle to the 
death with any enemy which might attempt to attack, 
by shot or shell, the almost helpless transports. 

The embarkation was a sight never to be forgot- 
ten. The expedition numbered about eight hun- 
dred officers and sixteen thousand enlisted men. 
Of the latter the greater part were from the regu- 
lar army, only three volunteer organizations being 
included, the Seventy-first New York and the 
Second Massachusetts Infantry, and the First Vol- 
unteer Cavalry, popularly known as Roosevelt’s 
Rough Riders, although Theodore Roosevelt was 
but the second in command of that dashing and 
daring body of horsemen. 

The coming of the Rough Riders was a delight 
to Ben, and he looked eagerly for Gilbert Penning- 
ton. Soon he saw his friend’s well-known face, 
and ran to greet Gilbert. 

“ How sunburnt you are ! ” cried each, and then 
both laughed. “ Yes, I was in the hospital, but 
not much hurt,” went on Gilbert, in answer to a 
question from Ben. “I’ve got a big scar on my 
left arm, but it was only a flesh wound, and if I 


OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 


161 


don’t have anything worse than that happen to me 
down in Cuba I’ll count myself lucky.” 

44 1 wish we could go together,” said Ben. 44 But 
I know that cannot be. Perhaps we’ll meet on the 
battlefield.” 

“To be sure.” Gilbert paused. 44 I’m sorry for 
one thing. The transports are so crowded that 
they can’t take our horses, so our first journey on 
Cuban soil will have to be made on foot, even if 
we are a cavalry company. Phew ! but our boat 
is packed like a sardine can.” 

44 We are no better off,” put in Frank, who had 
come up and shaken hands. 44 But never mind; 
war isn’t intended to be a picnic.” 

It had been expected that the vessels would leave 
at once after the soldiers were on board, but for 
various reasons the expedition was delayed twice, 
and it was not until Tuesday, June the 14th, that 
a final start was made from Key West. 

44 My ! what a mighty army there is of us ! ” 
exclaimed Ben, as he stood on the deck, the morn- 
ing of the second day at sea. 44 Why, there are 
nothing but vessels as far as one can see. It looks 
as if New York harbor was on the move, only the 
little steam tugs are missing.” 


162 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


The flotilla moved along in columns of threes, 
spreading out a distance of several miles, and 
around the troopships and supply boats steamed 
the grim warships, continually on the lookout for 
the enemy, and delivering orders through large 
megaphones, which Peter Wilkens declared 44 wuz 
the largest fish-horns ” he “ever see.” 

The speed of the flotilla was not great, since it 
was desirable to keep all the vessels together. The 
schooner with water set the pace, and although 
many fretted and fumed during the hot days and 
suffocating nights, this pace could not be changed. 

44 1 didn’t enlist for such — ah — abominable 
treatment as this,” grumbled Gerald Holgait, as he 
stamped around the sleeping quarters. 44 1 haven’t 
a washbowl to wash in ; my comb is gone, and — ” 

44 How about your moustache wax?” put in Casey. 
44 Sure and that’s most important of all, ain’t it 
now?” And a laugh went up. 

44 1 want no insult from you,” roared Holgait, red 
in the face. 44 1 — I am a gentleman, and I expect 
Uncle Sam to treat me like one.” 

“Oxactly,” put in Stummer. 44 Ve vill haf von 
glass case made for you ven ve reach Cuba, und you 
can sthay in dot vile ve does der fighting, hey ? ” 


OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 


163 


“You shut up, Dutchy ! 1 am a gentleman, and 

if you can’t appreciate the feelings of a gentleman, 
you had better — oh ! ” 

Gerald broke off and began to splutter. Frank, 
passing along with a bucket of water, had slipped 
on the rolling deck, and bumped up against Hol- 
gait, and a large part of the water had found its 
way over the dude’s breast and down his neck. 

“You — you villain!” gasped Holgait as soon as 
he could recover. “ You did that on purpose ! ” 

“No, I did not, Holgait. The ship rolled 
and — ” 

“ I say you did. I — I shall report you to Cap- 
tain Blank for it. ” 

At this another laugh went up. The idea of such 
a trivial occurrence being reported ! Even Frank 
smiled. “ All right ; go ahead,” he said. 

“ You and Russell think you can lord it over me, 
but you can’t,” went on Holgait, catching sight of 
Ben behind Frank. “You two think you are the 
king-pins of the company.” 

“That’s it exactly,” said Montgomery Dwight. 
“ The pair make me sick, and so do that Irishman 
and that Dutchman. I don’t see why they were 
allowed to enlist with us.” 


164 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


At this Casey blazed up. “ Montgomery Dwight, 
I consider meself as good a man as you, even if I 
haven’t the money you have,” he cried. “I am 
willing to go to the front and fight to the last drop 
of me blood for Uncle Sam. More than that no 
man can do.” 

“ Hurrah for Casey ! ” came in a shout. “ That’s 
the talk. Don’t let the dudes walk over you, Dan.” 

“ It ist easy to talk now ; let us see how der tally 
stands after der first fight ist ofer,” put in Stummer. 
“ I dink dot vill speak for itself. A chentleman 
ain’t no coward.” 

“ I can fight as well as any of you,” grumbled 
Holgait. “Just show me the Spaniards, and I’ll 
show you all what a real gentleman can do. Come, 
Mont; don’t waste time on such cattle.” And arm 
in arm the pair hurried away to the deck. 

“ I don’t see how fellows can make themselves so 
disagreeable,” remarked Ben to Frank. “ I don’t 
believe they have a friend in the regiment.” 

“ Holgait inherited a small fortune last year, and 
that has turned his head, Ben. He thinks money is 
everything. As a matter of fact, when it comes to 
drilling, he is one of the poorest soldiers we have, 
and Dwight is little better.” 


OFF FOR CUBA AT LAST 


165 


“ I wish I was to have nothing more to do with 
either of them,” answered Ben ; but his wish was 
not to he gratified. However, he saw but little of 
either of the dudes during the remainder of the 
voyage, for both were that afternoon taken with 
seasickness in its most violent form and sent to the 
“ sick bay ” of the troopship. 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE LANDING AT BAIQUIKI 

The island of Cuba, the “ Queen of the Antilles,” 
is the largest of the West Indies, and is not quite 
eight hundred miles long, by from forty to a hun- 
dred and thirty miles wide. It is of volcanic origin, 
and the Copper Mountains range throughout its 
entire length, with one peak, Pico Turquinos, ris- 
ing to an altitude of 7750 feet above sea-level. 

In centuries gone by the island had been inhab- 
ited by peaceful Caribs and by Indians, but in the 
year 1511 the Spanish sent a conquering expedition 
from Hayti, and from that time on, through centu- 
ries of cruelty, theft, religious persecution, and re- 
bellion, Cuba remained a Spanish colony, the richest 
possession, with the possible exception of the Philip- 
pines, of the mother country. 

The present, war between the Cubans and Spain 
was not the first waged for independence. Time 
and again had the oppressed ones sought to throw 
166 


THE LANDING AT BAIQUIRI 


16 T 


off the yoke which galled so deeply, only to be put 
down by that iron hand which knew no mercy but 
which was extended only to grasp whatever of money 
the Cubans could be made to pour into it. Nor was 
it the first time that Americans had tried to aid the 
Cubans. At least twice did Yankee filibusters join 
with the Cubans. But this was done without au- 
thority and was frowned upon by our government. 

As mentioned by Ben, Santiago and Guantanamo 
lie upon the southeastern coast of the island, and it 
had been decided that the army now on its way to 
invade Spanish territory should sail through the 
Old Bahama Channel along the north shore, around 
Cape Maysi on the extreme east, and then westward 
along the south coast until the vicinity of Guan- 
tanamo Bay was gained. Once at the latter point, 
General Shatter of the army, and Admiral Sampson, 
commanding the warships off Guantanamo and San- 
tiago, were to hold a council of war and decide 
what the next move was to be looking towards the 
fall of Santiago. 

Day after day went by, and still the vast flotilla 
kept at sea, moving slowly and cautiously, always 
on the lookout against a surprise. At night the 
vessels would draw close together, and the warships, 


168 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


sailing in a circle outside, would train their power- 
ful searchlights in this direction and that, so that no 
Spanish destroyer might crawl up under cover of 
the darkness. Only once or twice was land sighted, 
and then it was so far off as to be seen only with 
the aid of a glass. 

“ I’ll be glad enough to put foot on shore again,” 
remarked Ben, one hot night, as he and Frank 
crawled up the rigging to get a breath of fresh air. 
“ Casey calls this ship a baker’s oven, and I reckon 
he’s about right.” 

“ Two of the boys of the other companies fainted 
to-day from the heat,” answered Frank. “ Poor 
chaps ! I saw them both. The surgeon said it was 
doubtful if one of them got over it. I think we are 
fixing for a rain.” And Frank was right ; it rained 
soon after — a most welcome shower. 

It must not be supposed that all matters relating 
to the war were allowed to rest while the army of 
invasion was on its journey, for such was far from 
being the case. The marines landed at Guanta- 
namo had a hard time of it to hold the footing they 
had gained, and to keep a large force of Spaniards 
from going to the scene of these conflicts, Admiral 
Sampson began to bombard the outer defences of 


THE LANDING AT BAIQUIRI 


169 


Santiago, thus directing Spanish attention mainly 
to that territory. This gave the navy some hot 
work to do, as we shall learn when we follow the 
adventures of Ben’s brother Walter. 

It was a little after ten o’clock of a clear morning 
that a cry rang from one ship to another which 
caused all of the soldiers to seek the decks. 

“ The blockading fleet is in sight ! W e’re coming 
up to Santiago! ” 

“Hurrah!” cried Ben, throwing up his hat in 
delight. “ This trip is about ended.” 

“ And now for some 'real fighting ! ” added Frank. 
“ How is it, Ben ? Do you feel nervous ? ” 

“Not a bit of it,” was the truthful reply. “ It’s 
only this waiting that sets my nerves on edge. Oh, 
look, Frank, what a fine cruiser is approaching. I 
wonder what warship it is ? ” 

“ That is the Brooklyn ,” answered Captain Blank, 
who stood close by, marine glasses in hand. “ I 
know her very well. She is Commodore Schley’s 
flagship.” 

“The Brooklyn /” Ben’s heart gave a bound. 
“ I wonder if Walter is on board? He wrote that 
he was going to try to get on her.” 

The cruiser that had appeared was soon followed 


170 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


by another, and then orders were signalled for the 
troopships and freight boats to come to a standstill, 
which they did in a bunch, forming a perfect forest 
of masts. 

And then what a yelling broke loose! The navy 
that had waited so long for the coming of the trans- 
ports cheered for the soldiers, and the soldiers 
cheered in return, and more than one gun and pistol 
went off, “in a sort of Fourth of July celebration,” 
as Ben expressed it afterward. It was a great time 
all around, and everybody felt that, now the sol- 
diers had come, Santiago was doomed, and Cer- 
vera’s fleet must fight or surrender. 

The joy was not confined to the ships. Soon the 
news travelled to the marines at Guantanamo and to 
the half-starved and wretched Cuban troops under 
General Garcia, and these made hills and valleys 
ring with their shouts of delight. “ The war is 
over, and Cuba is surely free,” the old Cuban gen- 
eral is reported to have said, when, on climbing a 
hill overlooking the ocean he had seen that mighty 
fleet of vessels, loaded with Uncle Sam’s troops, 
sweeping shoreward. “Our deliverers have come; 
no Spanish troops can withstand them.” 

Upon arriving off Santiago, General Shatter’s 


THE LANDING AT BAIQUIRI 


171 


first movement was to hold the proposed interview 
with Admiral Sampson, after which both went on 
shore with their escorts, at a small place called 
Aserradero, where they met General Garcia, to 
learn what he was able and willing to do regarding 
the campaign then opening. 

The Cuban general’s headquarters were found 
to be nothing more than a wretched native hut, 
and it was soon apparent that the Cuban army, as 
it then stood, could give but poor aid at the best. 
“Furnish us with guns, ammunition, and rations, 
and we will battle to the bitter end,” was what our 
commanders were told, and the articles asked for 
were promised the insurgents. 

It was at this interview that General Shatter 
outlined the movements he intended to make on 
land. The troops were to begin disembarking at 
Baiquiri, on the 22d of June, and, in order to cover 
up this operation, the Cubans were to attract the 
attention of the Spaniards by a feint at Cabanas, 
some miles away, while our navy was to shell sev- 
eral places along shore. A number of transports 
were to get behind the warships, to give the Span- 
iards the idea that a landing was proposed at some 
other point than the real one. Once on land, the 


172 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


army was to move to the west and northwest, driv- 
ing the Spanish outposts before it, until Santiago 
itself was reached. 

Baiquiri was a small settlement on the coast, 
lying between Santiago Bay and the Bay of Guan- 
tanamo. The landing here was made at an elevated 
dock, partly burned by the Spaniards ere they re- 
treated. All the small boats of the troopships were 
called into play, and many of the smaller craft of 
the navy assisted. These carried the soldiers and 
camp stores. What there were of horses were made 
to leap overboard and swim to a sandy beach some 
distance beyond the settlement. It was found im- 
possible to get off all the troops at Baiquiri, and, 
later on, a number were landed at Siboney. 

“ What a racket ! ” observed Ben, when the big 
warships broke loose along the shore, to attract the 
attention of the Spaniards. The navy was cover- 
ing half a dozen points at once, including the real 
landing-place, and the dull booming of the cannons 
was incessant. “I’d give a good deal to know if 
Walter is helping along with this work.” 

“ That landing is not going to be so easy,” said 
Frank, who was watching the shore with a marine 
glass borrowed from a ship’s officer. 


THE LANDING AT BAIQUIRI 


173 


Directly in front of Baiquiri was a rough, rocky 
coast, and behind the settlement arose a range of 
hills. Here the Spaniards had built a fort and 
hoisted their flag. The flag was seen when the 
troopships came into the harbor, but on the day 
of the landing the Spaniards, alarmed by the 
Americans in front and the Cuban troops behind, 
evacuated the stronghold and fled towards Juragua, 
to the westward, leaving a trail of burning huts 
behind them. 

Among the first troops to land were the Rough 
Riders, and, it may be added here, these daring 
cavalrymen were among the first to do battle in 
the attack on Santiago. 

As boat after boat reached the shore a good-na- 
tured rivalry arose as to who should be the first to 
land, and many a tumble and wetting was had. On 
leaving the dock the soldiers were quickly formed 
into companies and marched forward into Baiquiri 
proper, some distance back of the landing, and then 
General Lawton threw out a strong detachment on 
the Santiago road westward, and another detach- 
ment among the hills to the north and east. The 
main body of the troops was quartered in the 
houses of the settlement and in the buildings of an 


174 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


iron company. All the natives had fled, but towards 
night some of them came back, timid and frightened, 
to become our soldiers’ best friends. 

In the morning the march was taken up from 
Baiquiri to Juraqua, and at La Guasima the Span- 
iards made their first stand, against two squadrons 
of the regular cavalry and two squadrons of Rough 
Riders. The fighting was sharp and fierce, and 
many a brave soldier laid down his life for his flag. 
Gilbert Pennington was in the thickest of this 
encounter, and how the gallant Southern lad fought 
and suffered will soon be related in detail. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


AN ENCOUNTER ON THE TRAIL 

“ My, oh my ! but this is hot ! ” 

“Hot doesn’t do it justice, Ben — it’s scorching, 
in spite of the heavy dew we had last night.” 

“ Sure, sergeant, and I’m all scratched to pieces, so 
I am, wid thorns on one side and stickery vines on 
the other,” put in Casey, as he shifted the heavy 
load he carried from one shoulder to the other. 
“ I’m strongly tempted to throw this stuff away.” 

“ I dink I vould chust as kvick fight dem Span- 
iards as dravel drough dis voods,” remarked Stum- 
mer, who came plodding on behind the trio. “Von 
minit I stumbles on a sthone, der next I vos gone 
down py a mud-hole alretty. Of dis keeps on, I 
durns me into a pack-mule, hey ? ” 

The regiment had landed at last, and under orders 
from General Kent, the division commander, was 
moving along a tortuous mountain road leading 
westward. At places the road was little more 
175 


176 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


than a trail, with sharp rocks and hills on one side, 
and a perfect jungle of tropical vegetation on the 
other. 

The heavy dews of the night, combined with the 
recent rains, had made the ground soggy and uncer- 
tain, and the unclouded sun, rising higher and 
higher, filled the air with a steamy sultriness which 
was depressing in the extreme. 

It was the intention of General Shafter to push 
forward to the outer fortifications of Santiago with 
all possible speed, yet to move a body of sixteen 
thousand men through a strange country over roads 
which could not have been worse, was no easy task. 
Surprises by the enemy must be guarded against, 
food must be supplied, even if the pack train and 
the wagons could not get through, and less than 
twenty-four hours had been spent on land, when a 
number of the soldiers were stricken down by the 
dreaded tropical fever. Later on, the awful yellow 
fever also broke out, bringing more to death’s door 
than did the guns of the enemy. 

As Ben and his fellow-soldiers toiled along, 
through dense thickets and across open spots where 
the sun seemed ready to strike them down with its 
intensity, they kept a sharp lookout for Spaniards. 


AN ENCOUNTER ON THE TRAIL 


177 


“ Captain Blank said they had sharpshooters out,” 
Ben remarked to Frank. “I have no desire to let 
one of them strike me off.” 

“Nor I,” answered Frank. “If they — hark! 
That was a shot, as sure as you’re born ! ” 

Frank was right. The crack of a rifle had rung 
out clearly, coming from a hill to the right. A yell 
followed, and a colored soldier, struggling along 
with a load of officer’s equipments, was seen to 
throw up his arms and pitch headlong. 

The sight thrilled Ben to the heart. Was this 
war — this shooting down of a man in cold blood ? 
He shuddered, and as he did so a dozen guns from 
among the soldiers around him spoke up. 

“We’ve knocked him!” reached his ears. “He 
was up in the tree on the top of the hill.” The 
report was true ; the sharpshooter had been caught 
at his own game, and his body came crashing down 
among- the bushes, to fall upon a rock in plain view. 

“Yes, it’s awful,” said Frank, seeing the look on 
Ben’s face. “ But that Spaniard brought it on himself. 
I wonder if there are any more in this vicinity ? ” 

“ Look to your guns, men ! ” sang out Captain 
Blank, drawing his pistol. “And keep as close to 
the rocks as you can,” he added a moment later. 


178 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Ben gazed at his rifle. It was not a new weapon, 
but it was in good condition and ready for use. He 
held it in front of him, his hand on the trigger. “ I 
came here to fight, and I’m going to do my duty,” 
he murmured, between his set teeth. “I’ll fire at 
the first Don who shows himself.” 

But no more sharpshooters were in the neighbor- 
hood, or, if they were, the fate of their comrade 
caused them to remain quiet. Soon the vicinity of 
the hill was left behind, and they tramped up to the 
top of a small table-land, where they came to a halt 
for dinner, — a meagre meal of coffee, hardtack, and 
a tiny slice of canned meat. It was not until sev- 
eral days later that full rations were to be had. 

When the march was resumed, it was found that 
the trail was growing worse instead of better, and 
several times some of the soldiers turned back, 
thinking they could go no further, and that another 
road must be found. 

“Let us go up on the rocks,” said Frank. “I 
believe it’s better travelling up there than down 
here. And we’ll get more air, too.” 

“ How about sharpshooters ? ” questioned Ben, 
hesitating. “I don’t want to be picked off.” 

“ Oh, I don’t believe there are any up here, Ben ; 


AN ENCOUNTER ON THE TRAIL 


179 


come on.” And the two young volunteers branched 
off as Frank had desired. 

To ascend the rocks was not easy, and more than 
once they had to haul themselves up by bushes and 
trailing vines. The vines grew everywhere, scores 
of feet in length, and often so thick, it was impossi- 
ble to break through the meshes thus formed. On 
every side were gorgeous flowers, and the hum of 
insects was incessant. 

“I reckon nature just lets things grow to suit 
themselves here,” laughed Frank, after a tussle 
with a number of the vines. “I never saw such 
rank vegetation in my life.” 

On went the pair, sometimes but a hundred feet 
from their companions, and then completely out of 
sight. The table-land had been left behind, and 
another hill rose before them. 

Frank was slightly in advance, but now Ben 
ranged up beside him. “ We are coming to a 
gully,” began the young sergeant, when his feet 
slipped from under him and down he went, amid a 
mass of rolling stones and a crashing and tearing 
of bushes and vines. “ Oh, look out !” he yelled ; 
but it was too late, for Ben was coming down on 
top of them. Over and over rolled both, to bring 


180 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


up at last with a thud against a fungus-covered 
rock, and in utter darkness. 

“ Ben, — are you — you hurt ? ” 

“N-no, but — my — wind is about gone.” 

“ What a tumble ! W e must have come clear 
down the opposite side of that hill we were trav- 
elling.” 

“Yes, but I didn’t see any edge,” answered Ben, 
as he arose slowly to his feet and shook himself, to 
ascertain if any bones had been broken. “The 
brush hid everything ahead from view.” 

“I guess I’m all right, although I’m scratched in 
about a thousand places,” went on the young ser- 
geant. “ This is going to war with a vengeance. 
We’ll have to climb up that hill again, somehow.” 

“You had better say somehow,” was Ben’s rue- 
ful response. “ Where are we ? It’s so dark I 
can’t see a thing.” 

“We’ve dropped into a hollow, I imagine. That 
is nothing but dense brush overhead. What a glori- 
ous bears’ den.” 

“ Are there bears in Cuba ? ” 

“Never heard of any. But there are wild boars, 
and they are nearly as bad. Got your gun ? ” 

“Yes, but my pack is gone.” 


AN ENCOUNTER ON THE TRAIL 


181 


“So is mine. They must be clinging somewhere 
up on the rocks. It’s a blessing the guns didn’t go 
off and kill one or the other of us. Better let down 
the hammer for the present.” 

Feeling the soil sloping upward to their left, the 
two unfortunates moved slowly and cautiously in 
that direction, until they encountered the brush 
Frank had mentioned. It was a perfect jungle, 
and five minutes of struggling brought them to a 
pause. 

“We’re booked to stay here,” panted Frank. “It’s 
a pity we didn’t keep to the regular trail.” 

“Never say die, Frank. We found a way into 
the hole and must find a way out. Let us go back a 
bit and try it in some other direction.” 

“ All right. I don’t wonder those Cuban soldiers 
are in rags. Just look at my outfit.” And Frank 
pointed to his clothing, torn in a score of places. 
“ Three months of this would leave a chap without 
a stitch to his back.” 

They retraced their course, and struck out as Ben 
had indicated. Here, fortunately, the vines were 
less numerous, and by cutting down a portion of the 
brush with their pocket-knives, they at last forced a 
passageway to a clearing beyond, where they came 


182 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


into sight of a well-defined trail running north- 
ward. 

“We’re out of that, thank goodness!” cried 
Frank. “But what about this path? It doesn’t 
look as if it would bring us back to where we 
started from.” 

“ I think it winds to the westward further on,” 
answered Ben, after a careful survey. “ And as it’s 
the only path in sight, let us try it for half a mile 
or so.” 

They pushed on, and finding walking easy, made 
rapid progress. The half-mile and more was cov- 
ered, and Ben called a halt beneath a tall mahog- 
any tree. 

“ We’re getting farther and farther away from our 
regiment, I feel certain of it,” he said. “ And that’s 
bad, considering we are in the heart of the enemy’s 
country. ” 

“Well, I’m sure I don’t know what to do, Ben. 
Do you advise going back ? ” 

“ Hardly ; for we can’t cross the top of that hill 
through the jungle. What is worse, night is com- 
ing on, and if we don’t look out we’ll lose ourselves 
completely.” 

“As if that wasn’t the case already.” Frank 


AN ENCOUNTER ON THE TRAIL 


183 


threw himself on the thick grass to rest. “ I must 
confess I’m stumped.” 

As tired as his chum, Ben also dropped on the 
sward. But not for long. Suddenly a tramping 
on the trail ahead of them was heard, and four 
rough-looking, dark-skinned, and dirty soldiers came 
into view, each armed with a Mauser rifle, the 
favorite Spanish weapon. 

“ Alto ! Quien va ! ” (Halt ! Who goes ?) came 
from the leader of the quartette, and then, as Frank 
and Ben leaped to their feet, the four Mausers were 
pointed at their heads. 


CHAPTER XIX 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 

“Don’t shoot ! ” 

It was Frank who uttered the cry, and he kept 
his own gun down, while motioning to Ben to do 
the same. The young sergeant realized that it was 
four against two, and the four “had the drop.” A 
counter demonstration would have meant death for 
himself or his companion, or possibly for both. 

As for Ben, it must be confessed that his heart 
leaped violently, for this was the first time a gun, 
nay, two guns, had been pointed at his head, and 
the weapons looked decidedly ugly. He had not 
yet received his “ baptism of fire,” and until such a 
time should come he was bound to feel more or less 
nervous on such an occasion as that now presented. 

“ Quien va ? ” repeated the leader of the quartette, 
but now his dirty bronzed face took on a faint smile. 
“ Americanos ? ” 

“Yes, we are Americans,” answered Ben, quickly. 

184 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 


185 


“Are yon for Cuba Libre ?” he went on, repeating 
the Cuban battle-cry, about the only Spanish words 
he knew. 

“ Cuba Libre!” cried the leader of the quartette. 
Then he turned to his companions, and all lowered 
their weapons and came closer. “ Sabe V. el Castel- 
lano f ” he continued, asking if they understood 
Spanish. Both of the young volunteers shook their 
heads, and the Cuban rebel laughed. 

“ Do you speak English ? ” asked Ben. 

“Speak little, mistair,” was the answer, with a 
strong accent. “Me once in Florida, — years ago. 
You come from de ships?” 

“Yes, we landed yesterday.” 

“ Ah, den you fight in battle yesterday, maybe ? ” 

“No, we weren’t in that,” put in Frank. “We 
were simply on the march. We lost our way on this 
trail and would like to get back to the main body of 
our army.” 

At this the four Cubans nodded vigorously. 
“You mean La Quasima,” said the leader. “Over 
dare,” he pointed with his gun-barrel. “ Long walk 
dis way — tree, four miles, — very rough. You 
best stay wid us till morning, senor.” 

“ But we must get to our regiment,” insisted Ben. 


186 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


At this one after another of the Cubans shrugged 
their lean shoulders. A talk followed in Spanish, 
of which neither of the American boys understood a 
word. 

“We think Spanish sharpshooters on dis trail,” 
said the leader, presently. “ You stay wid us till 
morning and we take you to your friends. We 
have other Americano — over in house. He shot 
yesterday. You come see him.” 

Evidently the four Cubans were well-meaning 
fellows, and having no inclination to fall in with the 
sharpshooters mentioned, Ben and Frank decided to 
accept the invitation to put up at the house which 
had been spoken of, and at which a soldier who had 
been wounded was stopping. “We may be able to 
do something for the poor fellow,” said Ben. 

The Cubans led the way almost directly into the 
brush and then over a stony road westward. As 
they tramped along Ben questioned the leader and 
managed to learn that his name was Jorge Mandona, 
that he was an under-officer in the Cuban army, and 
that he frequently carried despatches for General 
Garcia. 

“Me carry letters for Antonio Maceo when he 
live,” said Mandona. “ Maceo great man. If he 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 


187 


not shot, Santiago be ours long ago.” And Ben 
found out, later on, that such was the prevailing 
opinion among the insurgents in the eastern section 
of the island. To them, General Antonio Maceo, 
shot down in battle the year before, was the most 
daring leader and the greatest patriot the world 
had ever seen. 

It was sunset when the party arrived in front of 
a long, low house, built of logs and thatched with 
palm leaves and half a dozen ill-smelling sheep- 
skins, turned hair side downward, — the skins be- 
ing placed there not only to shed the water when it 
rained, but also to attract, by their odor, the numer- 
ous flies which swarmed about, thus ridding the 
dwelling of the larger portion of those pests. The 
house was set in the midst of a clump of grenadilla 
trees and boasted of a door and several windows, all 
of which were wide open to admit the air. 

“Not a very inviting place — ” began Ben, when 
he caught sight of the wounded American soldier 
sitting in a grass hammock slung from the door-post 
to a near-by tree. “ Gilbert Pennington ! or am I 
dreaming?” he burst out. 

“ Ben ! By all that’s fortunate ! ” was the an- 
swer, and Gilbert slipped to the ground and came 


188 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


forward. Ben noticed at once that he carried his 
left arm in a sling, and that he looked exceedingly 
pale. “ Oh, yes ! I got nipped first crack,” he said. 

“We hadn’t any idea you were here,” said Frank, 
and a handshaking all around followed. “ Tell us 
how you got shot.” 

“It was in the tanglewood at that place they 
call La Quasima,” answered Gilbert. “ The Rough 
Riders (that never rode at all) were coming 
along in double file, and every man of us wide 
awake for enemies, when all of a sudden the Dons 
opened up on us from I don’t know where, and 
knocked over three men all in a minute. We were 
taken a bit by surprise, but we gave it to ’em as 
good as they sent, and the cracking of our guns 
and the popping of their infernal Mausers became 
incessant. But they had the best of it, for they 
used smokeless powder, and we didn’t, and whenever 
they saw a puff of smoke they knew just where to 
aim.” 

“But you didn’t retreat — ” began Ben. 

“Retreat? Not much — we didn’t come away 
down to Cuba to retreat before a lot of those garlic- 
eaters. As soon as the first shock was over, we got 
orders to deploy into the brush, and we soon got 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 


189 


behind the Spaniards and got them on the run, and 
then they cleared out as fast as they could ; and the 
way was cleared for you people.” 

“ But what of this arm of yours, Gilbert ? Is it 
much hurt?” 

“ No, only a flesh wound just above the elbow. I 
received that after we had the Dons on the run. 
I ran after them for about quarter of a mile and 
missed my way, along with about half of our com- 
pany, and I had just come to a halt when, pop ! 
went a gun from among the trees, and I felt a 
sharp, stinging pain and the blood began to flow 
over my hand. I skipped for shelter, took off my 
coat, and bound up the wound as well as I could, 
and then tried to get back to my troop. But I 
lost my way in the dark, and early this morning 
several Cubans piloted me to this place.” 

“ You were lucky to escape with your life,” said 
Frank. “ I understand you lost a good many 
men.” 

“Troop L suffered heavily, losing the captain 
and another officer, besides a number of men. I 
don’t know what the others lost. Oh, it was a 
hot time while it lasted, I can tell you that ! ” and 
Gilbert threw himself into the hammock again. 


190 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“Were Colonel Wood and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Roosevelt with you ? ” asked Ben, with deep interest. 

“To be sure they were, and I never saw cooler 
officers. Why, Roosevelt had his cheek struck by 
a splinter from a tree against which he was stand- 
ing, and he never turned a hair. That man is a 
born fighter.” 

The Cubans were surprised to learn that the 
new arrivals knew the wounded soldier, and they 
asked Gilbert a number of questions in Spanish, 
for the Southerner had picked up the tongue while 
working around Santiago and Havana. 

“They say they’ll do the best they can by us,” 
said Gilbert to Ben and Frank later. “ But they 
want us to understand that getting back to our 
lines will be no easy matter. That fellow who 
came in a few minutes ago advises that we remain 
here until sunset to-morrow, and then follow a 
guide they will furnish to us.” 

“ Rest here a whole day ! ” cried Ben. “ Why, 
the army may be in the biggest kind of a battle 
by that time.” 

“ It’s not likely, Ben. The Spaniards are moving 
slowly but surely towards Santiago, and although 
we may have one or two battles out here, they 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 


191 


won’t take any real stand until the fortifications 
just beyond the city are gained. On the other 
hand, General Shatter won’t force a big fight until 
he has his artillery in position, and until a per- 
manent base of supplies is established.” 

As there were no benches or chairs handy, and 
only one hammock, Ben and Frank were glad 
enough to throw themselves on the ground in front 
of the house. In the meantime, the Cubans had 
built a fire and were preparing a meal of meat, 
cooked in a pot with sweet potatoes, onions, and 
garlic. The garlic was very strong and not very 
appetizing, to Ben’s opinion. Yet he was tremen- 
dously hungry, and when the mess was passed 
around in rude wooden bowls he declared it tasted 
better than it smelled. 

“ The Cuban can’t get along without his garlic,” 
said Gilbert, when the subject was mentioned. “He 
puts it into the pot no matter what else is to go in.” 

“Everything grows so profusely here, I should 
think the Cubans would raise plenty of vegetables,” 
remarked Frank. 

“ They could raise them if they tried. But the 
average Cuban, it must be confessed, is rather lazy 
— or rather, the heat makes him so — and, conse- 


192 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


quently, he doesn’t grow any more than he actu- 
ally needs. Some will grow only a few bananas, 
or, if they own a small grove of cocoanut trees, 
they make that pay their way — pulling off what 
cocoanuts are needed from time to time for trad- 
ing at the town markets. Of course I am speak- 
ing now of the poorer classes, and they are in the 
majority.” 

“ And what of the rich ? ” asked Ben. 

“ Oh, they think of only two things. In the 
western part of the island everything is given over 
to tobacco-raising, and down here everybody either 
has a sugar plantation with a mill attached, or else 
grows cane for his neighbor’s mill. Of course a 
number are engaged in sheep-raising and other 
industries, like, for instance, the getting out of 
minerals from the mountains yonder, but such 
enterprises are of secondary importance.” 

As soon as the supper had been cooked the 
Cubans had extinguished the fire, and now, as 
night drew on, they invited the three Americans 
into the house. Gilbert was to have the ham- 
mock, which was slung from one corner-post to 
another, while Ben and Frank were given a bed 
of cut vines in a comer. The Cubans disposed of 


AMONG THE INSURGENTS 


193 


themselves as they saw fit, some lying on the bare 
floor and some out under the trees. Three men 
were detailed to stand guard, and they sat facing 
the trail and the jungle beyond. Each of three 
guards was an adept at rolling cigarettes, made 
wholly of native, sun-cured tobacco, and as fast as 
one of these rolls was smoked up another was lit. 

“ They are all inveterate smokers,” said Gilbert. 
“And it’s necessary — to keep off the flies, mos- 
quitoes, and other pests.” 

Ben was so worn out he felt certain that he 
would sleep “ like a rock,” as he told Frank. Alas ! 
for his anticipation ; hardly had he dropped into 
a doze than he felt a nip on one limb, then a nip 
on another, and then what seemed nips all over 
him. “ Great Scott ! ” he muttered, and sat up. 
Striking a light, he saw that not only his impro- 
vised bed, but the whole flooring of the house, was 
alive with flees, bugs, roaches, and other crawling 
things which he had never before seen, and for 
which he could find no name. “ This is the worst 
yet ! ” he cried, and shaking himself thoroughly, 
ran for the open air, where, a few minutes after, 
he was joined by Frank. Gilbert, in the hammock, 
was hardly molested, and slept soundly. 


CHAPTER XX 

A TIMELY SHOT 

The sun had not yet risen over the blue-veiled 
hills to the east when Ben arose from his bed 
under a low-spreading palm, and walked over to 
the fire which two of the sleepy Cubans were 
building. “ Let me help you,” he said, smiling, 
and began to break up the thick brush over his 
knee. The Cubans were willing, and both dropped 
back, sank on the ground, and brought forth their 
ever-present supply of tobacco. 

“Our army won’t get much assistance from these 
chaps,” thought the young volunteer. “ They mean 
well, but the heat and three years of guerilla war- 
fare has taken the starch out of them. They want 
one or two good victories to brace them up.” 

“So you’ve turned out?” came from Frank, a 
minute later. He stretched himself. “ Gracious ! 
but I seem to ache in every joint.” 

194 


A TIMELY SHOT 


195 


“ Don’t say that, Frank, or I’ll be thinking the 
fever has hold of } r ou,” answered Ben, in alarm. 
“ There are enough of the poor fellows down al- 
ready, without your adding to the list.” 

“Well, I certainly do feel odd, Ben. However, 
we won’t anticipate evil. What’s on the bill of 
fare for breakfast?” 

Ben laughed. “No three-course meal for fifty 
cents, I can tell you that,” he returned. “ I can’t 
ask the Cubans. We’ll have to call Gilbert to do 
the talking for us.” 

“No, let him sleep, — the rest will do him more 
good than medicine. He’s a hero, if ever there 
was one, and so are the rest of the Rough Riders.” 

It was not long before Gilbert appeared, and 
presently a Cuban stalked into the camp bearing 
a part of a sheep on his shoulder. This was 
speedily cut up, and after Gilbert had spoken to 
Jorge Mandona about the matter, the three volun- 
teers were supplied with some mutton chops, which, 
broiled over the blaze, tasted delicious. Some rice 
cakes were also forthcoming, and these, along with 
some ripe plantains, made a very good breakfast. 
In many parts of Cuba the plantains — commonly 
known in our own country as bananas — are used 


196 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


as a substitute for bread, being eaten not only raw, 
but also when cooked and baked. 

The breakfast finished, the young volunteers were 
trying to decide what was best to do next, when a 
loud shout was heard, coming from down the trail. 
The shouting was in Spanish, and upon hearing it 
the Cubans leaped for their guns and their ma- 
chetes ; for not a one was there who did not 
possess one of the formidable sugar-cane knives, 
sharpened to a razor-like edge. 

“ A Spanish detachment is coming ! ” said Man- 
dona to Gilbert, speaking in his native tongue. “We 
fly or we fight, according to the number of men.” 

“ The Spanish ! ” ejaculated the young South- 
erner. “ Boys, we are going to get into it sooner 
than we expected.” And forgetting all about his 
wounded arm, he ran for his gun, and the others 
followed. 

The shouting increased, and presently came the 
crack, crack of a dozen pistols, and one of the in- 
surgents, who had just run forward from the house, 
was seen to fall, shot through the shoulder. “ Cuba 
Libre ! ” he shouted fiercely, “ Cuba Libre ! ” and 
then fainted. Such a man was one of the ill-fated 
isle’s best patriots, 



Li jJn 

x\ 

F # l | 



££$L ■ % ^ 


Ben raised his Gun Page 197 





A TIMELY SHOT 


197 


Ben’s rifle was ready for use, and catching it up, 
he followed Gilbert outside, with Frank at his 
heels. The three Americans made their way to a 
thick clump of bushes, the Cubans having mean- 
while scattered behind the trees. 

“ There they are ! ” came from Gilbert, as a dozen 
Spanish cavalrymen came into view. They were 
well mounted and armed, and each had his pistol 
in one hand and his sabre in the other. 

Bang ! crack ! bang ! The firing was heavy for 
a minute, and amid the clouds of smoke another 
Cuban fell, and two of the cavalrymen pitched from 
their saddles into the dust of the trail. A fierce 
yell followed, as both sides closed in, to strike 
right and left with sabre or machete, as the case 
might be. 

Gilbert and Frank had fired, and a man and a 
horse were hit, but neither seriously. Ben was 
about to discharge his weapon, when on glancing 
to his right he saw a sight which filled him with 
horror. Jorge Mandona, who had led his followers, 
had slipped upon one knee, and a dismounted 
Spanish cavalryman was in the act of running him 
through with his sabre ! 

Without stopping to think twice, Ben raised his 


198 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


gun, pointed it at the cavalryman, and pulled the 
trigger. Bang ! went the rifle, and the Spaniard’s 
sabre fell to the ground. The enemy had been hit 
in the forearm, and the Cuban was saved. 

The fighting now became hotter than ever, and, 
reloading, the three Americans continued to shoot, 
meanwhile keeping well behind the brush. Gradu- 
ally the Cubans were forced down the trail, and 
suddenly, seeing themselves greatly outnumbered 
by the foe, they broke and ran. The Spaniards 
went after them like demons, and before the skir- 
mish came to an end several more were wounded 
upon each side. 

“We’re lucky to escape without being hit,” re- 
marked Frank, as the shouting and firing died 
away in the distance. “Gracious, but that was 
hot while it lasted ! ” 

“ My opinion is, that the quicker we get out of 
this neighborhood, the better it will be for us,” said 
Ben. “ There is no telling when those Spaniards 
will be back.” 

“That’s true,” put in the Southerner. “Let us 
follow that trail a short way, and then strike out 
westward. We are certain to fall in with some of 
our troops sooner or later.” 


A TIMELY SHOT 


199 


In another moment they were off, Gilbert in the 
lead, Ben next, and Frank bringing up in the rear. 
They moved with caution, for they did not know 
but what another detachment of the enemy might 
be in the vicinity. Gilbert’s wounded arm hurt 
him considerably, but the Rough Rider did not 
complain. 

The trail now led upward, over first one hill and 
then another. On the top of the second eminence 
they paused to look about them, for here a wide 
expanse of country came into view. 

To the north stretched along two ranges of 
mountains, running almost parallel to the seacoast 
far to the south, — mountains thickly clothed with 
forests of rosewood, ebony, grenadilla, fustis, cedar, 
oak, palms, and plantains. The under vegetation, 
of brush and rank grass, crowded in everywhere, 
as did the trailing vines and the dank tropical moss. 
Here and there the ground was cleared, and planta- 
tions of sugar-cane, tobacco, maize, rice, and coffee 
could be seen. 

“I see the smoke of a village to the westward,” 
said Ben. “ What place is it, do you think, Gil- 
bert ? ” 

“It must be Sevilla. To the southwest, — over 


200 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


there, — is Peluca. Over to the northwest is San- 
tiago, but the hills of San Juan cut it off from 
view.” 

“ And how far are we from Santiago ? ” ques- 
tioned Frank. 

“ I can’t say exactly, — perhaps a dozen miles, as 
the crow flies. The road may be twenty or twenty- 
five miles long.” 

“ Look ! look ! ” suddenly shouted Ben, pointing 
westward, to a valley between two of the hills. “I 
am almost certain I saw the glint of a company of 
rifles among the trees. If only I had a glass ! ” 

Taking a stick, he pointed out the direction to 
his two companions, and all three trained their eyes 
on the spot. 

“ They certainly do look like guns,” said Frank. 
“ What do you think ? ” he continued, turning to 
Gilbert. 

The Southerner shook his head slowly. “Per- 
haps; but to my mind it’s nothing but the glint of 
a mountain torrent in the sunshine. However, if 
our soldiers are over there, so much the better for 
us. Come along.” And on they went. 

At the foot of the hill they came to a stream, 
tumbling down over a series of rocks and hedged 


A TIMELY SHOT 


201 


in with grass all of six feet high. The water looked 
cool and inviting, and they stopped long enough 
to get a drink and bathe their perspiring faces and 
hands. 

“You want to be careful how you drink,” re- 
marked Gilbert, as Ben and Frank knelt down for 
that purpose. “It’s not very pleasant to swallow 
a lizard or leech, and you’ll find plenty of them 
around here.” 

“ And the green flies ! ” cried Ben. “ I thought 
those bugs last night were bad enough, but these 
flies are terrors.” 

“Look!” exclaimed Frank. He had arisen and 
was pointing across the stream. Near a big mud- 
hole sat a monstrous frog, or toad, squinting and 
blinking at them. Taking up a stone, Frank shied 
it at the animal, and with a vicious hiss that brought 
with it some dark liquid from the frog’s mouth, the 
thing flopped into its hole and out of sight. 

“ Is he poisonous ? ” asked Ben. 

“ I don’t believe so, although the natives say that 
liquid will cause a severe swelling if it touches your 
skin,” answered Gilbert. “ Forward march ! ” And 
he leaped over the stream, and the others did the 


same. 


202 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Finding nothing to alarm them, and the trail 
having turned directly westward, they kept upon 
the ill-defined road. It was tremendously rough 
in spots, and more than once one or the other had 
to either boost or haul up his fellows. 

“ One thing is certain,” said Ben, as, having 
climbed an unusually steep hill, they threw them- 
selves down to rest. “ That Spanish cavalry never 
came this road.” 

“I’ve been thinking of that,” returned Gilbert. 
“We must have passed a fork somewhere without 
knowing it.” 

“If we have, I’m glad of it,” was Frank’s com- 
ment. “ The further we get away from the Dons, 
the better for us, — so long as we are not with our 
troops.” 

Eleven o’clock found them over the second hill, 
and on a bit of stony and somewhat barren table- 
land. A shower had been threatening, but now 
the sun came out hotter than ever, filling the air 
with a humidity that caused Frank’s head to ache. 

“ I’ve got to knock off until the sun goes down 
a little,” he said, turning first red and then pale. 
“This climate doesn’t seem to agree with me at 
all.” 


A TIMELY SHOT 


203 


Ben shook liis head seriously. “Yes, we will 
rest,” he said ; and they made another halt under 
some cedars. “I’m afraid Frank is getting ready 
for a sick spell,” he remarked to Gilbert, when the 
pair had walked away, on a scout for something to 
eat. “ He looks odd in the eyes and around the 
mouth.” 

“ I am afraid you’re right, Ben,” was the reply 
of the young Southerner. He shook his head du- 
biously. “ Heaven help him if he catches the fever, 
and so far from home.” 


CHAPTER XXI 

PRISONERS THREE 

Food was a scarce article, for the insurgents and 
Spaniards had stripped the country. “We’ll have 
a job finding something,” said Gilbert ; and his 
words proved true. Nearly half an hour was con- 
sumed in the hunt, and then all they brought back 
with them was some half-wild sugar-cane, some 
plantains not quite ripe, and two small birds, which 
the Southerner managed to bring down with his rifle. 

“There used to be plenty of wild cattle in this 
region, but they are all gone now,” said Gilbert, 
as he proceeded to build a fire over which to cook 
the birds. “ The Cubans had no respect for the 
beasts, but slaughtered them off very much as the 
buffaloes were slaughtered in the Western states of 
our own country.” 

While the fire was starting, Gilbert took out his 
pocket-knife and began to whittle off the ends of 
the sugar-cane, so that the sweet and tender por- 
204 


PRISONERS THREE 


205 


tions of the stalks might be eaten. “Sugar-cane 
and plantains make rather a tiresome substitute 
for good home-made bread,” he remarked, “but 
they’re much better than nothing. I’ll roast a 
few of the plantains, and you can try them that 
way for a change.” This was done, and Ben de- 
clared the dish quite palatable. 

It was not until three in the afternoon that they 
started again, Frank feeling once more “like him- 
self,” according to his own statement. But the 
young sergeant was by no means well, and an ex- 
perienced eye could easily have told that the dread 
tropical fever had claimed him as a victim. 

The three were jogging along in route step when, 
on making a turn in the trail, they came, without 
warning, upon a village of ten or a dozen huts, 
standing in irregular rows upon two sides of a 
roadway made by widening the trail. The huts 
were of logs, covered with palm roofs. 

“ Hullo ! halt ! ” cried Gilbert, who was in ad- 
vance, and the three at once sprang back. Not 
a soul was in sight, and the village looked deserted. 

“ I don’t believe there are any Spaniards about,” 
said Ben, after a wait of several minutes. “Sup- 
posing I call out ? ” 


206 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


The others agreed, and he set up a fairly loud 
yell, to which there was no response. Presently, 
however, a lonely-looking dog came from one of 
the huts and set up a doleful whine. 

“ That settles it ; the place is deserted,” said 
Frank ; and the three pushed forward. The first 
four huts visited contained nothing worth mention- 
ing ; in the fifth a sight met their gaze which 
burned itself indelibly upon their minds, and filled 
them with horror. 

To the rear of the hut, upon a mat of grass, 
rested the body of an old man, a mere skeleton, his 
hands clasping his bunched-up knees, and his head 
fallen forward. Close at hand, rested an aged 
woman, also reduced to mere skin and bones. The 
woman held the remains of an infant in her arms. 
Man and woman were chained to the flooring of 
the hut by an iron chain, and had died, beyond 
a doubt, of starvation. 

“ This is fearful ! ” gasped Ben, as he looked 
upon the scene. He could stand it but for a mo- 
ment — then he rushed back into the open. 

“ There is an actual testimony of Spanish cru- 
elty,” said Gilbert, as he, too, came away. “The 
young men of that household have most likely 


PRISONERS THREE 


207 


joined the troops of the rebels, the Spanish have 
come here and found it out, and this is the way 
the old folks and the baby are rewarded. Do 
you wonder that the Cubans, too, are cruel, and 
burn down canefields belonging to Spanish resi- 
dents, and cut their enemies to pieces ? ” 

“No, I don’t wonder, Gilbert,” returned Ben. 
“But I say it is high time Uncle Sam steps in 
and puts a stop to such barbarity.” 

The sight had made Frank feel sick again. 
“You can go into the other huts, if you wish, but 
count me out,” he said. Ben declined, and Gil- 
bert went the rounds alone, finding one more body, 
that of a young woman, shot through the neck. 

The settlement was quickly left in the rear, 
and they commenced climbing another hill. They 
were now nearing Sevilla, and presently, from a 
great distance, they heard the sounds of firing. 

“ Our troops cannot be far off ! ” exclaimed Ben, 
joyfully. “ Oh, how good it will feel to get back 
into the ranks again.” 

“ Don’t crow too soon,” returned the Southerner. 
“Remember, that firing shows that the enemy as 
well as our friends are at hand. We don’t want 
to walk into the wrong camp.” 


208 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ I’d like to know how our regiment is making 
out,” put in Frank. “We are bound to go to the 
front, if the generals will let us.” 

“ It’s a pity our troops haven’t smokeless powder,” 
resumed Gilbert. “ The Spaniards use nothing else, 
and it gives them a great advantage, to my way 
of reasoning.” 

“Yes, and I wish I had a Mauser rifle, or a 
Krag- Jorgensen, such as the regulars carry. This 
rifle is completely out of date, for such work as 
is cut out for us here,” commented Ben. The 
old-style firearms bothered the volunteers a good 
deal throughout the Cuban campaign, because of 
their smoke-making qualities. 

On and on they went, up hill and down, and 
through a tangle of brush that seemed to have no 
end. The sun had again gone under a cloud, and 
Gilbert announced that the rain would not hold 
off much longer. “And when it does come, why, 
look out, that’s all,” he added grimly. 

But no time was left to them to speculate upon 
the weather. Less than a hundred yards further 
had been covered when a rustling in the bushes to 
their left attracted their attention, and in an in- 
stant several rifle-barrels were aimed at them. 


PRISONERS THREE 


209 


“Alto!” came the command to halt, and as the 
three stopped they heard some one in the brush 
mutter, “Americanos.” 

The three Americans were in a bad situation; 
they could see that at a glance. Glancing over to 
the right of the trail, they saw an equal number 
of rifles pointed at them from that vicinity. They 
were caught between two fires. Ben looked at 
the others in perplexity. “What shall we do?” 
he asked. 

“ Follow me ! ” cried Gilbert, and like a flash 
he turned and disappeared into the brush on the 
back trail. Ben and Frank went after him, and 
at the same instant a volley of shots rang out, 
the bullets whistling alarmingly close. 

Crack ! it was Gilbert’s weapon. He had seen 
a Spaniard not fifty feet away, in the tanglewood, 
and had let drive. A howl of pain filled the air, 
and then came two more shots, from Ben and 
Frank. Whether or not the youths hit any one 
they could not tell, but immediate pursuit was 
checked, and once in the brush they paused to reload. 

“We walked into a spider’s nest that trip,” 
panted Frank. “There must be twenty or thirty 
of the enemy after us.” 


210 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


44 Come up the hill,” ordered the young South- 
erner. 44 The higher up we are, the safer we will 
be.” 

Ordinarily this might have been so, but it was 
not to be in the present case. In going up the 
slope they ran into a batch of the Spaniards, and 
once again found themselves confronted, and now 
in such a manner that escape was out of the 
question. 

44 Throw down your guns or we will kill you ! ” 
yelled a fierce-looking Spanish lieutenant, in very 
bad English. 44 Surrender, you American pigs ! ” 
— pigs being a favorite word with the Spanish sol- 
diers when referring to our own gallant men. 

44 We’re blocked ! ” muttered Frank, and he 
threw down his gun, and Gilbert did likewise. 
Seeing this, Ben did the same, and with yells of 
delight the Spaniards, to the number of thirty or 
forty, gathered around them. Ben was astonished 
to see how thin and starved-out many of them 
looked,-— no better than the Cubans that had been 
encountered. The rebellion of the past three years 
had told fearfully upon both sides. 

The three rifles were confiscated first, and then 
the Spanish lieutenant demanded that they pass 


PRISONERS THREE 


211 


over all of their other weapons, including their 
pocket-knives. The latter he thrust into his own 
pocket. “He’ll keep them to remember us by,” 
muttered Frank. “ What a greasy -looking sneak 
he is ! ” 

“ He shan’t keep them if I know it,” murmured 
Ben, in return, and then he received a rap on his 
arm from the flat side of the officer’s sword, with 
an order to keep silent. 

Frank’s stripes, as sergeant, had attracted atten- 
tion, and he was placed under particular surveil- 
lance when the three were ordered to move forward. 
The arms of each had been bound tightly behind 
him, and a guard of six men stalked along ready 
to shoot down the first who should show an in- 
clination to escape. 

The trail was soon left behind, and the Span- 
iards with their prisoners came out upon a level 
clearing, bound on one side by high rocks and on 
the other sides by thickets of trees and grass. In 
the midst of the clearing stood several heavy 
posts, supporting a thatched roof of immense palm 
branches. This was a kind of shelter common to 
Spanish officers when on the move throughout 
Cuba during the rebellion. 


212 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


The camp reached, Ben wondered what would 
happen next, but was not kept speculating long. 
Procuring some heavy ropes, made of braided vines, 
the Spanish soldiers, directed by the lieutenant, 
proceeded to bind each prisoner fast to one of the 
poles just mentioned. As the poles were ten or 
twelve feet apart, Ben was placed just that distance 
from Frank on one side, and Gilbert on the other, 
so that secret communication, under the watchful 
eyes of the guards, was out of the question. 

“We’re in a pickle now!” thought the young 
volunteer, gloomily. “I wonder what they will 
do with us ? One thing is certain : they won’t 
let us go. We’re booked either to be shot or else 
taken into Santiago as prisoners of war.” 


CHAPTER XXII 


THE ESCAPE FROM THE SPANISH CAMP 

It was growing dark when the three prisoners 
were left to themselves by the enemy, but soon 
a camp-fire was lit and also several beeswax can- 
dles, that the lieutenant might make a report in 
a flat pass-book he carried — a proceeding which 
Ben watched with interest. 

“ You speak your name ? ” said the Spaniard, and 
the young volunteer did so. Frank and Gilbert 
were asked the same question. The officer looked 
puzzled when the young Southerner mentioned that 
he was a Rough Rider. 

“ Where is your horse ? ” he asked ; and when 
told it had not yet been forwarded he grunted in 
contempt. “ Americano is a paper soldier — we 
will show the pigs their place ere we are done 
with them.” And he turned away. 

Over the camp-fire two of the Spaniards were 
constructing a parilla, made by driving four short 
213 


214 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


stakes in the ground in the form of a square and 
covering these with green twigs. An opening was 
left where the fire blazed the strongest, and here 
was placed a large, flat kettle filled with water. 

When they had first come into camp Ben had 
wondered what would be served for an evening 
meal, or if they would have to go hungry. He 
now saw the cook dump a quantity of rice into the 
kettle, then chop up sweet potatoes and the ever- 
present garlic. Then came a fierce squealing from 
a near-by thicket. 

“ Gracious ! that sounds like a baby ! ” he thought, 
and was compelled to smile inwardly when the cook 
brought forth a small pig. The beast was quickly 
slaughtered with a machete, doubtless one taken 
from a dead Cuban, and several chunks of pork 
were thrown into the pot, which was now bubbling 
merrily. 

It was plain to see that the Spaniards felt 
by no means safe in their retreat. Eight pickets 
had been thrown out, and every soldier kept his 
weapons where they could easily be reached. The 
men belonged to the Spanish Reserves, and had 
been sent from a station on Guantanamo Bay to 
increase the forces on the outposts of Santiago. 


THE ESCAPE FROM THE SPANISH CAMP 215 


As has been mentioned, the Cubans under General 
Garcia had undertaken to hold back many of the 
enemy marching towards the city to be besieged, and 
as the Cubans carried on nothing but a guerilla sort 
of warfare, to pass them in large bodies was im- 
possible in the hills, without heavy losses ; hence 
the Spaniards were moving for Santiago in detach- 
ments of fifty to two hundred men each. 

Feeling exceedingly thirsty, Frank asked for a 
drink, and was given some muddy water scooped 
from the pool under the rocks. It was hardly 
palatable, yet the young sergeant drank it, and 
this probably increased the fever already working 
through his system. For their own use, the Span- 
iards concocted the Cuban drink called guarapo, 
made by stirring bits of ripe sugar-cane in luke- 
warm water, — not a bad mixture, and one which 
is said to neutralize whatever there is bad in the 
water itself. 

As hungry as he was, Ben could scarcely swallow 
the mess of half-stewed pork and vegetables given 
him. “Not a bit of salt,” he grumbled. At this 
the Spanish lieutenant grunted and threw him a 
half-ripe orange. “ Some Americano here use that,” 
he said. Fishing out the bits of sweet potatoes 


216 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


and the rice, the young volunteer seasoned them 
with the sour juice of the orange, and then “ it went 
down, and no more,” so Ben said afterward. 

As night advanced, the brightness of the camp- 
fire was dimmed by a quantity of green brush, which 
gave forth a dense smoke and kept off the mosqui- 
toes and other insects. The soldiers gathered in a 
circle about the fire, and under the open-sided shelter, 
and were soon snoring lustily. All had previously 
smoked cigarettes, and these remained in the mouths 
of some as they slumbered. 

Ben and his companions had been allowed to slip 
down to the foot of the uprights which held them 
prisoners, but they were not unloosed, and to sleep 
in such uncomfortable positions was out of the ques- 
tion. Frank dozed, but Ben and Gilbert were wide 
awake. 

It was nearly midnight, when a slight sish! 
caught Ben’s ears. He raised his head, and in the 
uncertain light saw Gilbert nodding vigorously 
towards the camp-fire. Here a man had been left 
on guard, but he was snoring as loudly as his com- 
panions. 

“We must get away if we can,” whispered the 
Southerner. 


THE ESCAPE FROM THE SPANISH CAMP 217 


“I’m willing,” was Ben’s soft answer. “But 
how ? I’ve tried my best to free my hands, but it 
can’t be done.” 

“ There is a man lying behind you, on the other 
side of the post. Can’t you reach his machete with 
your teeth by bending over ? ” 

Ben turned back and looked at the man, a six- 
footer, with heavy, black moustache, and a fierce 
look on his bronzed face. “ He’ll kill me if he learns 
what I am up to,” he thought. 

Yet he did not hesitate, for he had no desire to 
be taken into the city as a prisoner of war, knowing 
full well how badly Cubans and Americans were 
faring in the Spanish prisons and dungeons. Twist- 
ing around, he bent over the sleeping form and with 
his teeth began to extract the machete from the 
fellow’s broad belt. 

The keen blade was almost in his possession when 
the soldier gave a start and a long sigh. Instantly 
Ben dropped back and pretended to be fast asleep. 
But the alarm was a false one, and the Spaniard 
slept on. 

He had the machete at last. What was to be 
done next? He sat still in deep perplexity. 

“ Slip it over your shoulder and grab it with your 


218 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


hands,” whispered Gilbert. “Then you can saw 
the vines apart somehow.” 

To speak thus was easy ; to follow the directions 
exceedingly difficult. The machete came down on 
Ben’s open palm and made the blood spurt. He 
started to cry out with pain, but checked himself, 
and began to saw away in a bungling fashion. 

“Are you making it?” asked the young South- 
erner, anxiously. u Don’t let the knife drop out 
of your reach.” 

Alas ! the words were scarcely uttered than the 
machete took a twist and fell down close to the 
sleeping Spaniard’s feet. Ben tried to reach it 
again with his mouth, but in vain. “ I’ve done 
it now ! ” he groaned, and, in sheer desperation, gave 
the vines a jerk. A snapping followed, and to his 
joy he found himself free. 

Scarcely daring to breathe, he crawled forward 
and took up the blade which had helped him to gain 
his liberty. In a few seconds he was at Gilbert’s 
side, and had liberated his friend. 

“Now beware how you assist Frank,” cautioned 
the young Southerner. “ I’ll clap my hand over his 
mouth and speak to him, while you cut his bonds.” 
And they moved forward to the young sergeant. 


THE ESCAPE FROM THE SPANISH CAMP 219 


“Wha — what?” gasped Frank, when Gilbert cut 
him short. “No noise, Frank; we are going to try 
to escape,” he whispered into the youth’s ear, and 
Frank understood. In another moment the trio 
were crawling from the shelter, hut not before each 
had secured his rifle and his belt full of ammunition. 
Frank was very much excited, and on taking his 
hand Ben discovered that it burnt almost like fire. 
“ God spare him if he gets the fever,” he prayed 
mentally. All of the soldiers had a horror of going 
to the hospital. 

“Wait — our pocket-knives,” whispered Gilbert, 
and turned back after handing Ben his rifle. He 
had the machete, and with this ready for use 
crawled towards the lieutenant. 

“ It’s too risky ! ” murmured Frank, but the 
young Southerner did not hesitate. He knew in 
what pocket the knives had been placed and soon 
had them in his possession. “Forward, and the 
greater distance we place between ourselves and 
these fellows, the better for us,” he said, and away 
they went. 

As previously mentioned, a storm was gathering, 
and once away from the fitful glare of the camp-fire, 
the three found it impossible to see a yard ahead 


220 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


of them. They blundered along, in the direction 
they thought the trail must be located. The South- 
erner was in front, still holding the machete. 

“ Alto ! ” suddenly came the cry, from less than 
two yards away. Then from a small opening came 
the outline of a Mauser barrel. Like a flash Gilbert 
was on the guard. “ Don’t fire, or I will kill you ! ” 
he cried, in broken Spanish, and threw the mouth 
of the weapon upward. The soldier wanted to 
struggle, but when he saw the point of the machete 
pointed directly at his throat, he thought better 
of it. , 

“ Take his gun,” went on Gilbert, and this was 
quickly done. “ Now lead us down to the road,” he 
went on, in Spanish. “ And remember, if you be- 
tray us, your life shall pay the forfeit.” 

At this the Spaniard shivered, and Ben scarcely 
blamed him, for Gilbert looked fierce enough to do 
anything. Turning, the man passed along through 
a stretch of tall grass and under some paims. Be- 
yond was the trail, now widening into a fairly 
respectable road. 

Fortunately the Southerner had not lost his bear- 
ings, and now knew in which way to turn. “ You 
will go with us for a few miles,” he said to his 


THE ESCAPE FROM THE SPANISH CAMP 221 


prisoner. 44 If you do what is right, I will not harm 
you.” 

For answer, the Spaniard muttered something 
under his breath, far from complimentary to Ameri- 
canos in general and the party of three in particular. 
He wanted to do something awful, — to slay all of 
them, — but with that machete close to his side and 
Ben’s rifle pointed at his head, his predominating 
thought was to save his own life and let the glory 
of Spain go. 

On and on they stalked, through the darkness, 
the Spaniard often looking backward and to the 
right and the left, in hope that help might come to 
hand. The three pressed him closely, giving him 
no chance to escape under cover of the night. His 
face was full of fear. Perhaps he thought the 
Americans would kill him, or take him to their 
camp and starve him to death. He had often 
heard from his ignorant officers that it was better 
to fall in battle than to be taken prisoner by the 
44 pigs,” who would surely treat him no better than 
a beast. This idea was firmly installed in the 
minds of all the Spanish soldiers, and when, later 
on, some were taken, the kind treatment they 
received filled them with amazement and joy. 


222 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Presently, at the distance of a little over a mile, 
they came to a mountain torrent. Not feeling 
certain about a fording-place in the darkness, they 
determined to try leaping to the other side. “ You 
go first,” said Gilbert to the prisoner, and the 
Spaniard did so. The next moment he had dis- 
appeared around a high rock, and they heard him 
crashing through the brush as though a legion of 
demons were pursuing him. Ben was about to 
fire after him, but the Southerner checked him. 

“ It won’t do any good, and our enemies may 
hear the noise,” he said. “Let him go. By the 
time he gets back to tell the news we can be a good 
three miles away. Come, we’ll make the most of 
our time.” And he set off on a semi-trot, which 
Ben easily imitated, but which taxed Frank to the 
utmost. All fondly hoped they had seen the last 
of the Spanish detachment, but they were mis- 
taken. 


CHAPTER XXIII 

CAUGHT IN A TROPICAL STORM 

“ I knew we should catch it ! ” remarked Ben, 
as a low rumble of thunder reached their ears. 
“ The storm seems to be a good way off, but it is 
travelling towards this quarter as fast as it can.” 

“Perhaps it was the booming of cannons,” said 
Frank. “ Oh, my head ! It’s buzzing like a saw- 
mill ! ” 

“ You must have a good rest as soon as we get 
settled,” returned Ben, kindly. “ Give me your 
arm.” And he supported the young sergeant. 
“No, it’s no cannon — see the light!” 

A broad streak had illuminated the western sky. 
Now the lightning came again, and by its aid they 
looked along the road for a considerable distance. 

“ Unless I’m mistaken I saw a hut,” cried Gilbert. 
“It’s far down the hill, to the right of the trail. 
We can stop there if the storm breaks.” 

“ But the Spaniards — ” began Ben. 

223 


224 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


44 They won’t want to move around any more 
than we,” returned the young Southerner. 44 You 
don’t know what a real Cuban thunderstorm is 
yet.” 

He was right ; but Ben was not kept long in 
ignorance. Soon the wind began to blow, first a 
fair breeze and then with a rush that bent every- 
thing before it, and sent many a wild plantain, 
heavily loaded with its fruit, to the earth. The 
tall trees swayed and creaked, and where the road 
led through a woods the air was filled with rotted 
twigs and stretches of torn-away vines. 

44 It’s coming!” cried Gilbert. 44 Yes, I was 
right; there is the hut, and it looks deserted. We 
can’t get to it any too quick ! ” And he urged his 
companions along. 

The wind had brought some scattering drops of 
rain. These were very large, and the plop-plop 
of the drops on the broad palm leaves could be 
distinctly heard. Now came a steady patter, and 
then there broke forth a perfect deluge which 
soaked them to the skin. 

44 Great Caesar ! talk about the rain at Camp 
Black — it wasn’t a patch to this ! ” panted Frank. 
He could scarcely get his breath, and both Ben 


CAUGHT IN A TROPICAL STORM 


225 


and Gilbert had to help him along. The road was 
left behind, and they plunged into the deep grass 
leading to the hut just as a crack of thunder came 
which seemed to split the very heavens. As they 
crossed the threshold the cloud-burst came in all 
of its fury, blotting out aught else, and turning 
the road into a good-sized stream. The atmos- 
phere was suffocating. 

To the surprise of the three, when they entered 
the hut they found it was not as dark inside as 
they had anticipated. In a little cage, built of 
twigs and “ file ” grass, were confined a dozen 
cocuyos, a species of tropical fireflies, but not such 
fireflies as are known to our country. The cocuyo 
is more like a beetle, and is from an inch to an inch 
and a half in length, with two good-sized wings. 
The light coming from the cage was, of course, 
spasmodic, yet it was equal to that of a fair-sized 
taper. 

“ Suena el trueno! (The thunder roars!)” mut- 
tered a voice from the back of the hut, and then 
the three saw two aged negroes sitting in a far 
corner. The men were tall, gaunt creatures, 
scantily dressed in cotton shirts and trousers, each 
with a belt about his waist containing his sugar-cane 


226 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


knife. On seeing the newcomers, both struggled to 
their feet in alarm. 

“Don’t fear ; we are friends,” said Gilbert, in the 
best Spanish he could command. At this the aged 
negroes came closer, and on seeing they were Ameri- 
can soldiers, broke into smiles and would have em- 
braced the three had they been allowed. 

“We saw a great number of the troops yester- 
day,” said the younger of the pair, in answer to a 
question from the young Southerner. “ They were 
marching for San Juan and El Caney. Brave, 
brave men ! How glad we are they have come ! ” 

“ Are there any of our troops near here ? ” asked 
Gilbert. 

The negro shook his head. “ I believe not. 
What do you think, Guido ? ” And he turned to his 
companion. 

The elderly negro also shook his head. “ They 
are miles away — driving the accursed Spaniards 
before them like so many cattle. It will take a 
good night’s march to overtake them.” 

“It’s rather discouraging, but I’m glad to know 
we are on the right road to our camp,” said the South- 
erner, after translating the negroes’ words into Eng- 
lish. “Christopher ! how it rains ! ” 


CAUGHT IN A TROPICAL STORM 


227 


And it was raining, “cats, clogs, and hammer- 
handles,” as poor Frank put it. There was no 
let-up to the downpour, and at times the water 
came in solid sheets which threatened to send the 
rancho , as the native calls his hut, to the ground. 

Despite their advanced age, — one was sixty-seven 
and the other seventy, — Gilbert found the two 
negroes very talkative, and gained from them much 
information concerning the war that had been waged 
between the Spanish and Cubans in that vicinity. 

“I fought in the Ten Years’ War,” said Guido. 
“Then we hoped for liberty, too, but it did not 
come. The past three years have been slaughter, 
slaughter, slaughter ! It was terrible, you cannot 
believe how bad, to have my two boys killed be- 
fore my eyes and my daughters driven into San- 
tiago to starve. They wanted me to go, but I was too 
proud. I said, ‘ Kill me, if you will ; I will stay on 
my little homestead.’ Then they knocked me down 
and kicked me, and said I could stay and starve, old 
fool that I was.” Guido’s eyes began to gleam. 
“ But a day of reckoning for Spain is at hand. I 
can read it in the pools of water when the moon is 
high, and on the backs of the toads.” And the aged 
negro waved his hands over his head. He was what 


228 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


is termed a nanigo , a voodooist, practising and 
believing in a witchcraft common to the lower class 
of colored people in Cuba. 

“Well, he’s about right,” said Ben. “Mummery 
or no mummery, General Shafter will get his troops 
into shape soon, and then the Spanish army in and 
about Santiago will hear something very much to 
its disadvantage.” 

Jeronimo, the other negro, had fought for two 
years under Antonio Maceo, and showed a scar on 
his left arm where a bullet had ploughed through the 
flesh. He said that he had once commanded a troop 
of thirty-six negroes who had laid in ambush for a 
Spanish regiment which had just arrived from 
Barcelona. The regiment was not used to guerilla 
warfare, and had been caught while passing through 
a stretch of swamp-grass. A third of the Spaniards 
had been killed and an equal number wounded. 
“We attended to the wounded,” he grinned, in con- 
clusion, meaning that those who did not get away 
had been butchered. To these men, who had suf- 
fered so much among their own families, the thought 
of taking prisoners was never given a second’s con- 
sideration. It was “an eye for an eye, and a tooth 
for a tooth,” and more, if it could be obtained. A 


CAUGHT IN A TROPICAL STORM 


229 


Christian-like spirit was still of the uncertain 
future. 

The thunder now became so incessant that further 
conversation was impossible, and Ben and the others 
sank down on the floor of the hut to await the end 
of the “ bombardment,” as the young volunteer said. 
44 If only we are not struck, I shall be satisfied,” he 
added. They were not hit, but a mahogany a hun- 
dred yards off was, and they saw the split tree blaze 
away furiously in spite of the wet. 

Gilbert had predicted that the storm would not last 
long, at least not the heavy part of it, and in this he 
was right. Inside of half an hour, the thunder and 
lightning drifted eastward, and the downpour be- 
came nothing more than a steady shower. The air, 
however, was as close as ever, and Frank declared 
that he felt that he was “stewing.” 

44 1 hope you keep on perspiring,” answered the 
young Southerner. 44 1 wish I had some quinine to 
give you ; ” quinine being the best specific for 
tropical fever in its first stages. 

He spoke to Guido, and the old negro brought 
forth some powdered bark he carried in a pigskin 
bag. 44 It will help him,” he said, and Frank took 
the dose in some guarapo. Then the voodooist 


230 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


began a chant, which the three Americans listened 
to in all gravity. “No use in hurting their feel- 
ings,” said Ben. The chant ended, the negro bowed 
three times in the direction in which the sun had 
set. 

A short discussion was held, and the three decided 
that nothing could be done until it grew lighter. 
“I feel tired out and must sleep,” said Frank, and 
almost immediately closed his eyes. Ben and Gil- 
bert looked at each other and shook their heads. 
Certainly Frank was in a bad way. “ What will 
his poor mother do if he gets sick down here and 
dies ? ” thought the young volunteer. 

By five o’clock the rain was reduced to nothing 
but a dreary drizzle, and it was already growing 
light over the hills to the eastward. Jeronimo was 
stirring up a fire the storm had about drowned out. 
Although poor, he had a small cocoa-shell full of 
coffee in the rancho , and was determined the Ameri- 
canos should have each a cup of this favorite bever- 
age. “ Out of honor to this visit,” as he said, with 
a bow that would have done credit to a gentleman 
of the old school. Guido was also up and out, and 
soon returned with some fresh plantains, which he cut 
into slices and fried, along with some sweet potatoes, 


CAUGHT IN A TROPICAL STORM 


231 


in cocoanut milk, — a dish by no means bad, as Ben 
soon discovered. 

While the three young soldiers were eating, 
Guido walked down to the road and off in the 
direction of the Spanish camp from which our 
friends had escaped. It was not long before he 
came back, running as rapidly as his aged limbs 
would permit. 

44 Hide ! hide ! ” he called out, in Spanish. 44 The 
enemy are coming ! They will be here in less than 
five minutes ! ” 

44 The enemy ! ” gasped Frank, in dismay. 44 Oh, 
Ben, Gilbert, what shall we do ? I can’t run any 
distance, — my head is already swimming.” 

44 We must make a stand ! ” returned the young 
Southerner, bravely. 44 Are you willing, Ben ? ” 

44 1 am — if there are not too many of the Span- 
ish,” answered the young volunteer. His heart 
beat violently, but he tried to keep calm. 

44 There are six — all heavily armed,” went on 
Guido. “Run, run, if you would save yourselves.” 

44 We cannot run — our friend is too sick,” Gilbert 
returned, in Spanish. 44 We will fight, and the hut 
must be our fort. Have you guns ? ” 

44 Alas, senor, no ! ” 


232 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Here is one extra one, — that we took from 
the picket last night, — and here is the ammunition 
for it. That gives us four guns against six. You 
are willing to aid us?” 

44 To the last drop of blood, senor,” replied Guido, 
earnestly; and the other negro said the same. 

44 Good ; then we will have five to their six, and 
the rancho to shelter us. Get out of sight, and 
prepare to do battle as soon as called upon. It may 
be they will pass without stopping to investigate.” 

44 1 will try to put them off the scent,” said Guido, 
and stepped into the open, unarmed. 44 Make no 
further noise, for they are coming ; I can already 
see their gun-barrels shining among the trees.” 


CHAPTER XXIV 


THE SKIRMISH AT THE RANCHO 

Making no noise, Ben and his companions, along 
with Jeronimo, retired to the rear of the rancho 
and looked to see that their weapons were ready for 
use. 

“We may be in for a hot fight, boys,” said 
Gilbert, earnestly. Then he held out his hand 
to Ben and to Frank. “ Good-by, if anything 
happens to me.” 

The words affected all, and they looked keenly 
into one another’s faces. “ If they attack us, 
we’ll face death, that’s certain,” thought Ben, 
and breathed a silent prayer for their safe deliv- 
erance. 

In a minute more the Spanish soldiers came in 
plain sight. Seeing Guido, the under-officer, a 
short, fat fellow, ordered his squad to halt. 

“Tell me, have you seen any Americanos about 
here?” he asked, in his native tongue. 

233 


234 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Guido bowed low and shook his head. “ I see 
nobody, capitan , absolutely nobody.” 

The negro’s manner was very respectful, and it 
tickled the under-officer’s vanity to be addressed 
as captain, he being but a corporal. Nevertheless, 
he looked doubtful. “You are certain none of the 
pigs have passed this way since yesterday evening ? 
We are looking for three in particular — one a young 
man and the others not even so old.” 

Again Guido shook his head. “ I have seen 
nobody, capitan; the road has been deserted ever 
since the storm came on.” 

There was a pause. “It is strange,” muttered 
the officer, half to himself. “ They came this way, 
and they could not take to the brush during the 
night, and in such a cloud-burst.” 

“ Shall I look into the hut, sir ? ” asked one of 
the soldiers, an elderly fellow with a cruel-looking 
face. “ It will take but a moment.” 

“ Yes, Lazano, go ; and search the place well. 
If the fellows were here, they may have left some 
clew behind.” 

At once the soldier left the squad and started 
for the hut. He had taken but a dozen steps when 
Gilbert called to Guido. 


THE SKIRMISH AT THE RANCHO 


235 


“ Come in here, quick ! ” he cried. “ Halt, I say, 
halt ! ” he added to Lazano, in a loud, firm tone. 

The command was not to be mistaken, and the 
Spanish soldier stood as still as a statue. “They 
are here, corporal ! ” he said in an undertone. 

“Come forth ! ” shouted the Spanish under-officer. 
“ Come forth, whoever you are.” 

“We are not coming just yet,” answered Gilbert. 
His Spanish was rather “ shaky,” yet he was under- 
stood perfectly. “We want you to go back to 
where you came from. If you won’t, we’ll open 
fire on you.” 

“ They are here, the pigs ! ” shouted the Spanish 
corporal. “ Forward, men ! Surrender, or we will 
kill you all ! ” And with a flourish of his rifle, he 
led the attack, with his five men at his heels. He 
had not been told that the escaped prisoners had 
taken their weapons with them, and he supposed 
the three to be practically unarmed. 

“ Fire on ’em ! ” shouted Gilbert, and pulled the 
trigger of his rifle. The report had scarcely died 
away when Ben and Frank fired also, and the 
soldier who had started to search the rancho was 
seen to fall, shot through the thigh. Guido now 
opened with the captured Mauser, and another 


236 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


man went down, shot through the neck, — a fatal 
wound, as it afterwards proved. 

“ Load just as quickly as you can ! ” exclaimed 
Gilbert, flinging the empty shell from his rifle. 
As the oldest of the three, he had naturally as- 
sumed the leadership. “ That was a good shot, 
Guido,” he added in Spanish. “ Give it to them 
again ! ” 

“ Cuba Libre!” came from the negro. “ Cuba 
Libre ! ” repeated his mate. The next moment 
Jeronimo had leaped past the others and was out- 
side, circling the air wildly with his long machete. 
“ That for Maceo ! That for Gomez ! That for 
Garcia ! ” he fairly shrieked, and struck at one 
and another. Two of the soldiers retreated, but 
the third, the corporal, received a severe wound 
in the arm. Jeronimo was about to follow the 
last cut with a blow at the under-officer’s neck 
when a Mauser went pop ! and he flung up his 
arms and fell back into the grass, to rise no 
more. 

By this time the three Americans had reloaded, 
and now they crowded up to the window, Guido 
with them, to take another shot. Finding himself 
behind the others, Ben ran to the doorway. Bang ! 


THE SKIRMISH AT THE RANCHO 


237 


went his rifle, but the bullet cut only the air and 
the leaves of a plantain a hundred yards away. 
Two reports followed instantly, and he felt a sting- 
ing sensation in his knee. Then came a blaze of 
fire from his friends, and the Spaniards retreated 
for the first available shelter. 

“ What is it — are you struck ? ” asked the South- 
erner quickly, noting how pale Ben had become. 
“ Where is it ? in the knee ? That’s bad.” 

“ I don’t believe it’s much,” answered the youth, 
faintly. He had a dim vision of losing his leg 
and walking on a crutch for the rest of his life. 
He clapped his hand to the wounded part. The 
blood was already showing through his linen 
trousers. 

“ Must we surrender ? ” It was Frank who 
asked the question. He was reloading in feverish 
haste, his eyes blazing like two stars. In the excite- 
ment he had forgotten all about being sick. 

“We’ll not surrender if you and Ben can hold 
out,” answered Gilbert. “We have the best of it 
so far. Good, Ben; that’s grit.” He spoke thus, 
for the young volunteer was reloading while stand- 
ing only on his uninjured limb. “I wish I had 
time to look at that wound.” 


238 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Guido was bemoaning the fate of Jeronimo, who 
had been his brother-in-law. He wished to rush 
out and avenge the fallen man, but Gilbert re- 
strained him. “ Stay here ; you can do better with 
the rifle,” he said. “They are behind the trees 
and will pick you off like a sheep, if you give 
them the chance.” 

“ I will hunt them as sheep,” answered Guido. 
He waved his hand, and Mauser in arm slipped 
down through an opening in the back wall of 
the rancho. Looking through the exit, Gilbert 
saw him dive into the thick grass and disappear 
after the fashion of a snake. 

A pause followed this proceeding, and Frank, 
peering from first one opening and then another, 
announced that not a Spaniard was in sight ex- 
cepting the dead man, even the wounded having 
crawled off. 

Bound to find out how badly he was wounded, 
Ben proceeded to roll up his trouser leg. The 
blood was still flowing freely, but, wiped away, 
it revealed nothing more than a deep and ugly- 
looking scratch. 

“You’re a lucky one,” said Gilbert, as he bound 
up the wound with his handkerchief. “ Had that 


THE SKIRMISH AT THE RANCHO 


239 


bullet come an inch closer it would have gone 
through your knee joint, — one of the nastiest 
shots one can get, so I’ve been told.” 

“ Don’t shout — we’re not out of the woods yet,” 
returned Ben, with a faint smile. “ Hark ! that 
is Guido, I’ll wager a dollar ! ” 

He was right. Crawling up behind one of 
the hidden Spaniards, the negro had blazed away 
and avenged the death of his brother-in-law. But 
the aged man was not allowed to escape. Two 
of the Spanish soldiers fell upon him, and he was 
put out of this world within a minute after firing 
his own weapon. 

“ I’ll tell you what I think they’re going to do,” 
said Frank, after ten minutes of breathless silence 
had passed. “ One is going back to that camp 
for reenforcements while the others are watching 
to prevent our escaping.” 

“ I don’t doubt but that you are right,” answered 
the young Southerner. “ The question is, shall we 
make a rush for liberty? I don’t mean now, but 
as soon as we feel assured the messenger has really 
gone.” 

“ I’d rather rush than become a Spanish pris- 
oner,” put in Ben. “Now we have fought them, 


240 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


they won’t treat us half decently; I’m satisfied 
of that.” 

“The trouble is, your knee won’t let you rush 
very far,” resumed Gilbert. “And Frank is 
just as badly off ; I can see that plainly. If it 
was dark, we’d have a far better chance to get 
away.” 

“Perhaps we can ‘hold the fort’ until it gets 
dark,” returned Ben. “ If they — Hark ! Oh, 
boys, it’s our troops, as sure as guns ! ” 

A loud shouting from down the road had reached 
Ben’s ears. All listened intently. The shouting 
came closer, and a dozen rifle-shots rang out, fol- 
lowed by fierce yells in Spanish. Then of a sud- 
den, two companies of United States regulars 
burst into view. “ Hurrah ! we’re saved ! ” Ben 
ejaculated, and ran into the open, with Frank and 
Gilbert beside him. Across a long stretch of tall 
grass they made out what was left of the party 
that had attacked the rancho , fleeing with all the 
swiftness left to their limbs. They took hasty 
aim and fired, but the shots were useless. 

The regulars had about finished their pursuit of 
the flying enemy, and the unexpected appearance 
of our friends, with the sight of the dead Span- 


THE SKIRMISH AT THE RANCHO 


241 


iard and the two dead negroes, brought them to a 
stop. The ranking captain of the two companies 
formed his command into a square and then hur- 
ried forward to learn what had taken place. 

“You’ve certainly had a hot time of it,” he said, 
when they had told their story. “ We’re all having 
hot times, it would seem.” 

“ Can you tell us where to find our companies ? ” 
asked Ben, eagerly. % 

“ I think I can come pretty close to it,” was the 
captain’s reply. “ So far our army has kept well 
together, although now some of the divisions are 
pushing up to the northward. You’ve been shot, 
I see.” 

“ It is not much, sir ; only a bad scratch. But 
my friend here is sick — getting the fever, I am 
afraid.” 

At the latter words the captain shook his head 
doubtfully. “ Too bad ! This campaign will have 
to be short and sweet, or half of the boys will be 
in the hospital. We had eight men of our regiment 
taken down yesterday and to-day. Come along, if 
you can walk. If you can’t, I’ll have the hospital 
corps get out a couple of stretchers.” 

“We’ll try walking first,” said Ben, after con- 


242 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


suiting Frank ; and three minutes later they had 
temporarily joined the two companies of regulars 
and turned in the direction of Firmeza, a small 
town situated about midway between Baiquiri and 
Santiago. 


CHAPTER XXV 

THE LEADER OF THE ROUGH RIDERS 

The two companies of regulars moved along in 
route step, picking the easiest walking to be found 
over a stony and uneven path which in years gone 
by had been an ox-cart road, but which had evidently 
not been worked for a long while. 

Ben had placed himself beside a jolly-looking 
regular, who, from his appearance, was from the 
West. The man, whose name was Dennison, was 
not above talking, and as the young volunteer 
trudged along as easily as his bandaged knee per- 
mitted, the regular gave him the outline of what 
had occurred during the past forty-eight hours. 

“ The Dons are on the retreat to Santiago by way 
of Sevilla,” he said. “ We’ve had half a dozen little 
scraps, but nothing half as bad as that affair at La 
Quasima,Mvhich opened the boys’ eyes to the fact 
that this campaign was no lawn party. Was your 
friend of the Rough Riders in that?” 

243 


244 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“Yes, and wounded, too, although he got but a 
scratch like myself.” 

“It was a regular ambuscade, so I’ve been told 
by one of our fellows of the Tenth Cavalry. Gen- 
eral Wheeler gave out that there were sixteen killed 
and fifty-two wounded, besides about a dozen or so 
missing. How did you come to drift away from 
your regiment?” 

Ben told him. “ My friend, the sergeant, and I 
felt sure we could find an easier road,” he added. 

“You want to stick to your company when you’re 
on the march in an enemy’s country, my boy. I 
tried your trick once, when I was out in Dakota, 
near the Indian reservation, and I almost got my 
hair raised for doing it. But I agree with you, the 
roads are something awful. The engineering corps 
have every available man out, cutting down the 
brush, levelling the rough spots, and building sub- 
stantial bridges in place of these ramshackle affairs 
now over the streams. So far nothing but a few 
pack trains have come through, but they are hoping 
to bring up the artillery and wagons before the end 
of this week.” 

“ Has the navy been doing anything ? ” 

“I haven’t heard of anything in particular, ex- 


THE LEADER OF THE ROUGH RIDERS 245 


cepting that they are trying to cut one cable and 
connect with another. They are watching Cer- 
vera’s fleet and waiting for Shatter to attack San- 
tiago proper. We’ll have the hottest kind of a time 
then.” 

Although allowed to talk freely, the soldiers were 
on their guard as they moved along. They were 
in heavy marching order, each man carrying several 
pounds of rations and ammunition, along with his 
rifle, blanket, half-tent cloth and poncho, or rubber 
sleeping-cloth. Ben and Frank wondered if they 
would be able to get fresh outfits to supply those 
lost in the tumble down hill, but were glad they 
had not just then the loads to carry. “The gun 
is enough,” sighed the young sergeant, and Ben 
agreed with him. Strange to say, the walk seemed 
to do Frank good, or else it was the medicine the 
unfortunate Guido had administered. Yet the fever 
was there and was bound to break out sooner or 
later. 

It was by no means a clear day. A mist hung in 
the valley between the hills, and it was hard to tell 
whether it was raining or not. From the sopping 
vegetation the evaporation filled the atmosphere, 
with the scent of “something growing green and 


246 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


rank,” as one of the officers of the campaign has 
expressed it. It was this air that had much to do 
with putting hundreds of our brave boys on their 
backs with fever and other maladies peculiar to the 
tropics. 

Firmeza, a place of small importance, was passed 
on the left about noon, and the regulars branched 
off on a side trail leading to a settlement called 
Santa Ana. The walking became rougher than 
ever, and Ben, his knee growing stiffer and stiffer, 
felt he must drop behind. He and Frank and 
Gilbert were now walking together. 

“ If only we could locate some one we knew — ” 
began Ben, when a cry from Frank cut him short. 

“ Look ! look ! it is Casej^ and Stummer ! Hullo, 
fellows ! Seventy -first ahoy ! ” 

“Whoop! Well I niver ! ” came from Dan 
Casey, and he came rushing along the trail as 
rapidly as his pack would allow. “ Alive, the both 
of ye, and all hands thought ye dead ! ” And he 
shook hands heartily. Soon Stummer came up also, 
to be followed by Peter Wilkens and several others. 
Some mules of the pack train had run away into 
the brush and become lost, and the volunteers were 
bringing supplies into camp on their shoulders. 


THE LEADER OF THE ROUGH RIDERS 247 


“ I iinks me close Spaniards haf shooted you,” 
said Stcmmer, smiling broadly. 44 Und you yos 
shooted, too.” And he looked at the wounded knee. 

“ It’s only a flea-bite, Carl.” Now that Ben was 
among friends he felt much relieved. u Have you 
done any fighting yet?” 

“A little — on the picket line,” put in Peter 
Wilkens. He stopped short and doubled up with 
a sudden roar of laughter. “ Gee whiz ! but I’ve 
got a good story to tell ye ! Remember how Holgait 
and Montgomery Dwight were always boastin’ as 
to how they’d lick them Dons when they got the 
chance? Well, last night Casey, Stummer, I, and 
half a dozen others on guard fixed up a joke on 
’em. We got ’em to bragging about what they 
would do, and then all of a sudden four of the 
fellers sprung out o’ the grass, and we yelled 
‘ Spaniards ! look out ! ’ and, say, Holgait and 
Dwight dusted as though the Old Nick was after 
’em, and hid behind a rock, and when the boys 
came up, Holgait yells, 4 Don’t shoot ! I give up,’ 
and Dwight chimes in, 4 Don’t kill me, and you 
can have all I’ve got ! ’ Oh, it was the richest 
thing ever heard of.” And Peter Wilkens roared 
again, and everybody joined in. 


248 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“They won’t forgive that trick,” remarked Ben, 
after he had stopped laughing. “ What have they 
to say about it? ” 

“ Sure an’ phwat could they say ? ” answered 
Casey. “ It’s like sheep they acted. Dwight tried 
to say he understood the joke and had acted his 
part just for fun, but nobody would listen to him. 
Every day Holgait is wishin’ he was home again, 
because he has no hand basin to wash in and no 
mirry by which to comb his hair. I suppose he’d 
die if he didn’t get that long hair of his parted 
exactly in the middle.” And another laugh went 
up. It was plain to see that, even if the volunteers 
were not as rough-and-ready as the regulars, they 
were by no means dudes. 

Gilbert was very anxious to find the Rough 
Riders, yet no one could give him any definite 
news concerning that troop. But half an hour 
later, as they were passing through the camp of a 
regiment of regulars, he came face to face with an 
officer on horseback whom he instantly recognized. 

“ Colonel Roosevelt ! ” 

The well-known organizer of the Rough Riders 
stopped short. “ Hullo, what are you doing here, 
my man ? ” he demanded. 


THE LEADER OF THE ROUGH RIDERS 249 


44 I’m just getting back to camp, colonel. I was 
knocked out in that first skirmish several days 
ago, and I’ve had a whole lot of adventures among 
the Cubans and Spaniards since.” 

“Indeed? Were you wounded, or was it the 
heat?” And the gallant leader was all attention. 
No officer took a greater personal interest in his 
men than did this whole-souled man of the city 
and the plains. To him 44 a man was a man,” no 
matter how high or how humble his station in life. 
And it was this manner of looking at things that 
made him so generally beloved in the army. 

44 1 was wounded, sir — only a nip in the arm. 
I am looking for my troop.” 

44 You will find them behind yonder hill. Follow 
this trail and turn into the first on the left.” And 
with a pleasant wave of his hand Lieutenant-Colonel 
Roosevelt galloped away. 

The little party moved off, and at the fork in 
the road the young Southerner bade his companions 
good-by. “We’ll meet again before long, I’m 
certain of it,” he said, and added to Frank, 44 Take 
care of yourself, and as soon as you can find the 
surgeon make him give you a big dose of quinine.” 

The advice was scarcely needed, for poor Frank 


250 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


was having alternate flashes of heat and cold, and 
trembled visibly. “ Poor chap, he’s got it, sure,” 
murmured Ben to Wilkens, to which Peter added, 
“ I guess he has, an’ it’s wuss ten times over nor 
any fever an’ ager ever I took to hum ! ” Casey 
and Stummer were likewise much concerned. 

It was growing dark when the camp of the 
regiment was gained. It was on the side of a 
hill thickly overgrown with cacti and a tangle of 
wild vegetation. The tents were placed in irregu- 
lar rows, and the camp-fires were few and far 
between. 

It did Ben’s heart good to receive such a warm 
welcome as was accorded to the pair that had 
gone astray. “ We had put you on the missing 
list,” said Captain Blank, “but Corporal Dawgon 
said he thought a Spanish sharpshooter had picked 
you off.” Then he asked about Ben’s knee, and 
finding that it was only a bit sore and stiff, ordered 
him to the hospital tent for liniment. “And you 
get something just as quick as you can,” he added 
to Frank. 

At the hospital tent they found a dozen patients, 
some of whom had been shot. Ben was soon cared 
for, and the doctor took Frank in charge. “You 


THE LEADER OF THE ROUGH RIDERS 251 


get down on that bed,” he ordered. “Your case is 
nothing to be fooled over.” And Frank threw him- 
self down, and was glad of the chance. Before Ben 
retired for the night he called to see how his chum 
was getting on, and found the young sergeant in 
a raging fever and completely out of his mind. 
“ Hard lines,” said the surgeon, laconically. “ But 
his case is only one of several hundreds, — with how 
many more to follow Heaven alone knows ! ” 


CHAPTER XXVI 

AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE 

Since the original army of invasion had landed at 
Baiquiri and other near-by points, it had been in- 
creased by the addition of a number of volunteer 
regiments from Massachusetts and Michigan, and 
also by some regulars, until, as the forces moved 
closer and closer to the outer defences of Santiago, 
they numbered upward of eighteen thousand men on 
the firing lines. 

It was General Shafter’s plan to form a huge 
semicircle on the eastern outworks of Santiago, 
starting on the north, or right, at El Caney, and 
extending on the south, or left, to Aguadores, on 
the Guama River. This irregular front measured 
almost twenty miles, and lay along hills and table- 
lands and through valleys thick with forests and 
rank undergrowth, with here and there a mountain 
torrent, bridgeless and next to impossible to ford. 

Amid many discomforts, the soldiers had marched 


252 


AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE 253 


from the landing at Baiquiri, to the village of the 
same name, a mile and a quarter inland. From this 
place they had made their way to Demajayabo, a 
settlement composed chiefly of people working in 
the mines in that vicinity. Some distance beyond 
Demajayabo they reached the railroad used to carry 
minerals from the mountains to the docks on San- 
tiago Bay, close to the city. After a brief fight our 
troops gained possession of this railroad, and it was 
used to some extent for transportation purposes. 
But the Spaniards had broken up the track, de- 
railed an engine over the roadbed, and injured a 
bridge over which the road ran, and soon the rail- 
road was abandoned. 

The first stand of the Spaniards, at La Guasima 
(La Quasima), has already been spoken of in Gil- 
bert’s account. Finding they could do nothing 
against such a determined enemy, the Dons contin- 
ued their retreat to the northwest, through Sevilla 
to San Juan. At San Juan they took another 
stand, and it was here that the most decisive battle 
of the campaign was fought. 

Since I have said so much in my story about the 
volunteers engaged in this campaign, it seems to me 
no more than right to speak a word concerning the 


254 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


regulars ; that is, the men who were in the United 
States army long before the war broke out. These 
regulars, numbering perhaps twelve thousand, had 
been on duty throughout the West and at other 
points, and were thoroughly trained to their duties. 
They fought as only veterans can fight, and there 
was hardly a man but covered himself with glory. 
This fact is well worth remembering, as the Cuban 
campaign was the first in which our country pitted 
its regulars, in a body, against the regulars of an 
enemy; for the War of the Revolution, that of 
1812, the Mexican War, and even the Rebellion, 
were contested mainly by volunteers. The glory of 
the regulars did not dim the glory of those who 
gathered at our President’s call, but it did silence 
the sneers of those foreigners who had put down the 
“so-called Yankee standing army” as “paper soldiers.” 

The army of invasion was known as the Fifth 
Army Corps, and was commanded, as previously 
mentioned, by Major-General William R. Shatter. 
General Shatter’s career had proved him a true 
soldier and one born to command. A farmer’s 
son, used to handling the scythe and the pitchfork, 
Shatter worked his way up until, at the opening 
of the Civil War, he joined a Michigan company as 


AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE 255 


first lieutenant. He served with honor all through 
this war, and became major, colonel, and finally 
brigadier-general in the regular army. At the 
conclusion of the Rebellion he was placed in com- 
mand of the Department of California. 

The troops under General Shatter were divided 
into two divisions of infantry, two brigades of 
cavalry, and two brigades of light and four bat- 
teries of heavy artillery. The cavalry were largely 
without horses, and the artillery moved so slowly 
that a portion of it proved practically useless. For 
this, the condition of the roads was, of course, re- 
sponsible, some of the gunners fairly weeping when 
they found they could not get their guns up to 
the firing lines. 

At first, while the troops were in the vicinity of 
Aguadores, Sevilla, and San Juan, the firing line was 
a heavy one, and the Spaniards made no attempt 
to withstand it, but as body after body of the 
troops moved northward, to cover the northeastern 
approaches to Santiago, the firing line became 
thinner and thinner, for it takes a great many 
soldiers to cover a line fifteen or twenty miles in 
length, and some regiments must always be held 
in reserve, to rush to any part of the line which 
may suffer a sudden attack. 


256 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


At the end of June the positions of the two 
armies had been assumed for the final contest. The 
Spaniards had surrounded their city from the water 
batteries on the north, in a semicircle eastward 
and southward to Aguadores, where they were sup- 
ported by the batteries near the entrance to San- 
tiago harbor. The American forces were lying in 
a long, thin line outside of this semicircle, with a 
larger portion of the troops at San Juan and 
marching for El Caney. To the north of El Caney 
were located the insurgents under General Garcia, 
and the remaining Cuban forces were gathered on 
the eastern slopes of Santiago Bay, to prevent re- 
enforcements for the doomed city from coming in 
from the western provinces. 

Both El Caney and San Juan lay on the tops 
of hills, and it was known that, once these places 
were taken, it would be only a question of time 
as to when the heavy guns could be brought up 
and trained on Santiago, when the city would be at 
the Americans’ mercy. El Caney, especially, being 
but two miles from the city proper, afforded an ex- 
cellent spot for siege guns, should they be required. 

To the difficulties already encountered was now 
added another, new to warfare. This was the use 


AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE 257 


of barbed wire, strung here and there across the 
trails and roads, and formed into almost solid 
fences, six and eight feet high, in the centres of 
open fields which had to be crossed. The wire 
barriers in the forests were bad enough, but those 
in the open were much more dreaded by our sol- 
diers. Many regulars were provided with wire- 
cutters, but no matter how hasty the movements 
of a body of troops, more or less of a halt was 
necessitated to cut down the fence or climb over 
it, and during this halt, the Spaniards, lying con- 
cealed in trenches cr in the woods beyond, would 
pour in an incessant and deadly fire. 

The wire fencing was a continual source of an- 
noyance to Stummer, who invariably stuck fast 
and had to be pulled away minus small bits of his 
clothing. “ Dot vos besser around a cow-field nor 
here,” he grumbled. “I dink I vos scratched in 
apout dree dousand blaces alretty, und my clothes 
vos like von vater-sieve.” 

“ Never mind, Carl ; it’s all for Old Glory, remem- 
ber,” answered Ben, cheerfully. “ Three cheers for 
the Red, White, and Blue ! ” And a moment later 
the whole company was singing that grand old 
song as lustily as their fagged-out condition per- 


258 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


mitted. Singing was the order of the day, and 
everything “ went ” from “ America ” to a negro 
song which had just become popular. The latter 
composition had a good marching swing to it, and 
was heard morning, noon, and night, and even the 
bands played it, whenever they got a chance to use 
their instruments, which was not often. 

A war balloon had been sent with the expedi- 
tion and had been used to advantage, "working in 
conjunction with the Signal Corps, a body of men 
whose duties are to transmit messages from one 
point to another, by means of flags, light, and other 
signals. The war balloon, however, became at once 
a promising target for the Spaniards, who soon 
blew it to pieces with shrapnel. 

Late in the afternoon of an unusually wet day 
Ben found himself lagging behind ; for, though his 
knee was apparently doing well, it still gave him 
a twitch at times. He was alone, Casey and the 
others having pushed to the front with the inten- 
tion of bathing in a stream reported to be just ahead. 

The trail was rocky and dangerous, being along 
the steep edge of a hill. It was being used only 
by foot-soldiers, the horses and wagons having to 
go around by a longer route. 


AN ADVANCE ALL ALONG THE LINE 259 


The regiment had been left to go ahead to the 
river, when, on looking up, the young volunteer 
saw before him the well-known forms of Holgait 
and Dwight, limping painfully forward, each dude 
with only a portion of his outfit, the rest having 
been thrown away as too heavy. 

“They wouldn’t throw their things away if they 
knew how hard it was to get others,” thought Ben. 
To renew his own outfit had not been easy, even 
though he was on excellent terms with the quarter- 
master, and that which he now carried belonged to 
a soldier who had been sent back to the hospital 
at Siboney. 

The trail became very steep, and Ben was won- 
dering if it would not have been better to follow 
the wagons on the long route, when a shrill cry 
from Holgait caused him to look in that direction. 
The next instant came a yell of terror from Mont- 
gomery Dwight, and Ben saw that the other dude 
had disappeared. 

“What is it?” he cried out, and set off on a 
run, his gun ready for instant use. 

“ Gerald ! He has fallen over the cliff ! ” gasped 
Dwight, his usually doll-like face now actually 
white with fear. 


260 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Over the cliff ! ” ejaculated Ben, and dropped 
his gun. “ Where ? ” 

“He went over there,” — Montgomery pointed 
with his forefinger. “He’s killed — mashed up, I 
know he is ! Oh, why did we ever enlist ! ” And 
he shook from head to foot. 

“ Don’t be a calf, Mont. Show me exactly where 
he fell. Here, you say? I can’t see him.” Ben 
was down on his knees and gazing far below into 
the grassy valley. “ Come here and look,” he 
went on, but Montgomery shrank back. 

“ I can’t do it — I’ll get dizzy and fall, I know 
I will,” the dude faltered. “ Perhaps I’d better go 
ahead for help.” And he started off. 

“ Stop — don’t go yet ! ” called out Ben. He 
bent over the edge of the cliff again. “ Gerald ! 
Gerald Holgait ! ” he called loudly. 

There was no reply, and he shifted his position 
several yards. He now gained a view of a narrow 
shelf of rocks, twenty odd feet below the foot-path. 
The shelf was partly covered with brush and trail- 
ing vines, and lying in the midst of the brush was 
Holgait, his head and shoulders hanging over the 
edge into space ! 


CHAPTER XXVII 

THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 

“ I SEE him ! ” 

44 Do you ? Wher — where is he ? ” chattered 
Montgomery. His terror was so great he could 
scarcely speak. 

44 Down below here, partly resting upon a narrow 
ledge,” answered Ben. 

44 And is he — is he — ” Montgomery could not 
finish. 

“I don’t know whether he’s dead or not. He 
isn’t moving, and — There, he is alive! He just 
moved his left arm ! We must get to him, Mont, 
just as quickly as we can ! ” 

44 Get to him ? ” 

“ Yes. He is still unconscious, and if he turns 
over while in that state he’ll fall a hundred feet or 
more. We must get to him without an instant’s 
delay.” 

44 But we can’t — I couldn’t climb down there for 


261 


262 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


a thousand dollars,” and the dude shuddered. 
“We had better go ahead for help.” 

“It won’t do — we must act now,” insisted Ben. 
He thought for a second, then took his army roll 
from his shoulder and released the blanket. “ Take 
hold of this end and brace up against that pro- 
jecting rock,” he ordered. “ Quick now, and don’t 
you let go when I let myself over the edge.” 

“I — I can’t — ” 

“You must , Mont. We’ve got to save Gerald. 
Take hold, I say.” And Ben thrust the end of 
the blanket into the unwilling volunteer’s hands. 
“Now brace up here, like this. Lay back well, 
and remember what I told you : don’t let the 
blanket slip under any circumstances.” 

“ Hi ! what’s the thruble here ? ” came in the 
clear voice of Dan Casey, and the next moment 
the young Irishman was on the scene. He had 
been just ahead of Holgait and Dwight, and had 
turned back on the first cry for help. 

In a few words Ben explained the situation. 
“You can help Mont, Dan,” he said. 

“ Sure, I will that. But be careful, me lad, take 
it aisy like, or we’ll lose two off the muster role 
instid of one.” 


THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 


263 


Reenforced, Montgomery felt more at ease, and 
he took hold of the blanket timidly. “Never mind, 
I’ll do it,” said Casey, and in a trice he had braced 
himself, and Ben was slipping down over the cliff 
carefully but rapidly. In less than half a minute 
he stood beside Holgait on the narrow ledge. 

“ Oh ! ” The sound came from the unconscious 
soldier, and he half raised himself. The movement 
would have caused him to lose his balance and 
tumble below into the valley, but just then Ben 
clutched him and held him fast. “ Don’t move, 
Gerald, don’t move, if you value your life ! ” he 
said. 

“ My head ! ” came the reply, with a groan. 
“ Oh, what a fall I had ! ” 

“I know it. But you must keep quiet. We are 
on a narrow ledge, and it’s a mighty dangerous 
place. I’ll get you up to the top again somehow.” 

Another groan was Holgait’s only answer, and 
Ben called up to Casey, “Throw your blanket 
down, Dan, and I’ll tie him up into a bundle and 
you can pull him up.” 

The covering came tumbling down in a minute, 
and Ben placed the sufferer in it. “ Hold tight, if 
you can — anyway, don’t roll out,” he said, and tied 


264 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


one blanket fast to the other. Then he raised 
Gerald np and called upon Casey to haul away. 

It was a hard pull, and once it looked as if the 
second blanket would become undone and Holgait 
would be lost. But Casey worked rapidly, and that 
danger passed by. Once above, the semi-uncon- 
scious sufferer was laid back in a safe place in the 
grass ; and then Ben was hauled up. 

“ You did well, you’re brave to the core, so ye 
are ! ” burst out Casey. “ Going down there is as 
much as any man would want to be afther doin’ ! ” 

At first Montgomery Dwight said but little. 
But when Ben looked at him he grew very red in 
the face. “ It was a big thing, Ben Russell,” he 
said in a low tone, 44 a big thing that I shan’t for- 
get.” For once the foppish coward was heartily 
ashamed of himself for his former treatment of the 
lad who had never borne him any ill-will. 

There was nothing to do but to go for another 
soldier, make a temporary stretcher of two poles 
and a blanket, and carry Gerald Holgait down to 
the nearest ambulance. Here the surgeon made an 
examination and found that while no bones had 
been broken, Gerald had been pretty well bruised 
and shaken up, and would have to be taken to the 


THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 


265 


rear. At the time of his going the dude said noth- 
ing to Ben about the rescue, but later on he sent a 
note to the youth, in which he thanked him from 
the bottom of his heart. 

“ I shall never forget you,” he wrote. “ I treated 
you as meanly as I could, and this is my reward. 
I always thought I was a gentleman and you were 
not, but I’ve found out my mistake. You’re the 
best young fellow I know of, and now that I’ve 
resolved to turn over a new leaf, I only hope I can 
become like you. I wish you every success at the 
front, and hope you will come out with shoulder 
straps.” Ben showed the communication to no one, 
yet it did his heart good to receive it. And thus 
ended the only enmity he had encountered since 
entering the army. 

That evening Ben found himself for the first time 
upon the firing line. The Spanish forces were 
known to be but a short distance away, and hasty 
intrenchments had been thrown up along the brow 
of a hill overlooking the river. Ben was placed 
on the lower end of the shelter, with Stummer on 
one side of him and Wilkens on the other. It was 
a rainy night, and far from comfortable lying in the 
wet grass and soil, watching with all eyes for the 


266 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


alarm that did not come. But they were no worse 
off than the Spaniards, who lay in a similar trench 
also waiting. It was the calm before the storm. 

For the troops under General Lawton had now 
reached the vicinity of El Caney, the most northern 
place to be attacked, and only waited for the signal 
from General Shafter to begin the battle. A con- 
ference of leaders had been held, and it had been 
decided to force the fighting all along the line on 
the same day, the army doing its best on land and 
Sampson’s fleet standing off shore and bombarding 
Santiago from over the heights upon which rested 
the fortress of Morro Castle. 

As has been said, El Caney was a suburb of San- 
tiago, an old-fashioned Cuban resort, with a quaint 
stone church and queer-looking stone and timber 
buildings. On a hill-top was built an ornamental 
blockhouse, and this was garrisoned by a regiment 
of Spanish soldiery. 

The main attack upon El Caney was sustained by 
the regulars, assisted by the Second Massachusetts 
Volunteers, a body of young men who fought with 
the valor of veterans and who will long be remem- 
bered among the heroes of “ The Hornets’ Nest,” as 
the battlefield was christened by the blood of Arneri- 


THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 


267 


cans and Spaniards alike. The march along the 
narrow road, now a foot deep with mire, was weary- 
ing to the last degree, and it was all Capron’s bat- 
tery, which had been sent with the division, could 
do to get through. “ Up, boys, up! ” the drivers of 
the tugging horses would yell. “ Up, boys, we’re 
to knock the Dons to-morrow! ” and whip after 
whip would crack. Then a cannon would go down 
into a hollow, and eight or ten horses would be 
required to haul it out. Some of the drivers would 
lose their patience, especially when the horses 
bunched up and got in a tangle, but there was 
nothing to do but make the best of it, and push 
along steadily despite the rain and the heat. 

It was about half-past six on the morning of July 
the first, that the battery trained upon El Caney 
opened the fight which was soon to spread down the 
whole line and be taken up by our warships out- 
side of the harbor. As the hill upon which the 
town stood was approached, it was found that 
the Spaniards had made every available use of the 
blockhouse, the stone church, and of a fort cut in 
the solid rock. There were also rifle pits with the 
usual wire barrier, and sharpshooters using smoke- 
less powder had been stationed in the tops of tall 


268 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


trees and in tlie church spires, where they might 
pick off the American officers as opportunity of- 
fered. Such are some of the grim details of actual 
war. 

In the meantime, under cover of the smoke and 
of a patch of woods, General Chaffee’s brigade 
moved swiftly to the rear of the town, thus cutting 
it off from Santiago. 

“ Down goes the flag ! ” The cry was taken up 
by the gunners of Capron’s battery. A well-di- 
rected shot had knocked the tower from the Span- 
iards’ fort, and a second shot brought down the 
flagstaff. 

“ Give them shrapnel now ! ” cried the com- 
mander of the battery. “They will try to put that 
rag up again.” And shrapnel was poured into the 
fort so rapidly that, try their best, the Dons could 
not hoist their standard again. 

With Chaffee’s brigade in the northeast, and Miles’ 
and Ludlow’s brigades to the west and south, a gen- 
eral advance upon El Caney was ordered. Down 
the hills upon which they were stationed, and up 
the hill upon which “The Hornets’ Nest” was 
located, rushed our gallant soldiers, the brave 
Massachusetts Volunteers well to the front. 


THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 


269 


“Remember tlie Maine!” At first the cry arose 
only here and there, but presently it became a per- 
fect roar. “Remember the Maine!” “Down with 
the Dons ! Hurrah for Uncle Sam ! ” And then 
from a distance came the airs of “ Yankee Doodle ” 
and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The Spaniards 
were also yelling and cheering, but what they said 
was lost in the roar of the battery and the sharp 
rattle of musketry as line after line opened fire* until 
the hill appeared to be wrapt in flame and smoke. 

“ Forward, men ! charge ! ” a captain would cry, 
and the company would press on, through the deep 
grass and brush, over treacherous pits and murder- 
ous wire barriers, firing when they could, and then 
dropping to reload. Crack ! spat ! would come 
the distant reports of the sharpshooters’ firearms, 
and here and there an officer would be seen to 
throw up his arms, drop his sword, and sink down, 
perhaps never to rise again. The men would want 
to gather around their fallen commander, but no 
time must be lost, and a lieutenant, or maybe a 
sergeant, would lead them on, closer and closer, and 
still closer, to that blockhouse and that fort which 
must be taken by assault, no matter what the cost. 

And so the battle went on, from early morning 


270 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


into the afternoon. Men were now growing ex- 
hausted, and the ambulance corps had more than it 
could do to take the wounded and fatigued ones to 
the rear. The outer intrenchments of the Span- 
iards were now ours, but the fort and the block- 
house were still to be taken. Who would lead that 
charge into almost certain death ? 

Who ? Every one ! There was not a dissenting 
voice. They were all Uncle Sam’s men, ready to 
do or die, as occasion might require. “ Lead us on, 
that’s all ! ” cried more than one old regular. 44 We’ll 
go ! ” yelled the volunteers. 44 Put us ahead ! ” The 
volunteers were fighting at a disadvantage with their 
smoke-making guns, but this did not daunt them. 

Reenforcements consisting of Bates’ brigade from 
Siboney had arrived, and now the rush was on. 
Shouting and cheering, the soldiers mounted up El 
Caney hill, straight for the fort and the blockhouse. 
Bullets flew more thickly than ever, and in the 
smoke all formation was lost, and a man would attach 
himself to whatever body of men was nearest to him. 

For a moment there was a pause. Would they 
falter and run? 44 At ’em, men, and the fort is 
ours ! ” came the cry. 44 Remember the Maine ! ” 
and the lines closed up and moved onward. 


THE TAKING OF EL CANEY 


271 


“ Hurrah ! the fort is ours ! ” Who started the 
cry is not known, but soon it was echoed on all 
sides. The news was true. With that last fire, 
the Spaniards had started to retreat, leaving all 
their stores behind. The flight of the enemy en- 
couraged our men to a renewed effort, and in a few 
minutes the fort was in our possession and the 
Spaniards were fleeing in all directions, having 
found their proposed route into Santiago cut off. 
Many fled to the town and hid in all manner of out- 
of-the-way places. 

With the taking of the fort and the intrench- 
ments near it, El Caney was practically at the 
mercy of the Americans. Yet the blockhouse 
offered a stout resistance, and be it said to the 
credit of the Spanish garrison located there, it was 
not taken until nearly every one of the men left in 
the building had given up his life for his flag. 

But we must not linger over the glorious battle- 
field of El Caney. Down at San Juan the battle 
was also on, and here we will join Ben and his 
friends, and see how they came out of what has 
since been called by those who took part, “The 
Slaughter Pen.” 


CHAPTER XXVIII 

THE BATTLE OF SAN JTJAN 

“Sure an’ this is nice. We came over here to 
whip the Dons, an’ we end up by takin’ a swim, 
bedad ! ” 

It was Dan Casey who spoke, uttering the words 
while fording the San Juan River, at a point not 
far distant from the heights of San Juan. 

The entire army had been compelled to cross the 
stream without the aid of a foot-bridge. Fording- 
places were from a foot to three feet deep, and 
though at first clear, the river soon became a muddy 
torrent, at which many a soldier halted in dismay. 

“Well, there’s no help for it, Dan,” replied Ben, 
as cheerfully as he could. “ And I don’t see as it 
makes any difference anyway,” he added. “The 
rain has soaked me through already.” 

“ Dot’s chust it,” put in Stummer, with a broad 
grin. “It vos puts me in mind of a story I hear 
pout an old lady vot tropped an egg, und dot egg 
272 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


273 


was pad. 4 Yell,’ she say, ‘dot fall didn’t hurt you 
any.’ Chust so dot vater can’t hurt us any, can 
it?” And the German volunteer began to laugh. 

General Shatter had been taken sick, and General 
Wheeler was in command, although he, too, was by 
no means well and frequently had to lie down on 
a cot carried forward for him. The “little fight- 
ing man of the South ” was here, there, and every- 
where, and to him was largely due the success of 
the assault on San Juan. 

It had been General Shafter’s plan to take El 
Caney as already described, and while this was go- 
ing on, Grimes’ battery, sent to the heights of El 
Pozo, overlooking San Juan, was to throw a destruc- 
tive fire into the San Juan fortifications and at the 
same time cover the advance of General Kent’s divi- 
sion and of General Wheeler’s cavalry up the series 
of hills and over the fields leading to that strong- 
hold. General Kent’s soldiers were composed en- 
tirely of regulars with the exception of the regiment 
to which Ben belonged, while the cavalry were also 
regulars, outside of the Rough Riders. It must be 
remembered that the cavalry were only so in name, 
no horses having as yet arrived for them to ride. 

Infantry and cavalry had been pushing along side 


274 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


by side, and more than once Ben had seen Gilbert 
and had a few words with him. Gilbert was much 
interested in Frank, and was sorry to learn that 
the young sergeant was still somewhere in the rear, 
and not even Ben knew exactly how he was faring. 

“ We’re going to catch it soon, I feel it in my 
bones,” the young Southerner said, on parting at 
a fork in the road just before the river was reached. 
“ This sickness all around will compel our generals 
to force the fighting,” and in that opinion Gilbert 
was correct. The campaign must be short and de- 
cisive, or the fever would prove a worse enemy than 
the Spaniards. Every hour men were dropping by 
the roadside, too ill to go on. Ben had felt sick 
himself, “ awfully stretchy,” as he put it, but a big 
dose of quinine had braced him up, and in addi- 
tion given him some booming in his ears which was 
not altogether caused by the cannonading in the 
distance. 

The river passed, the company to which Ben 
belonged found itself on the side of a hill, grown 
over with long grass and thick cacti. Here the 
men deployed, each seeking the best shelter he 
could find, for they were now within both sight 
and range of the enemy. The grass, though long, 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


275 


had been beaten down by the rain, so that it af- 
forded no good hiding-places, while the cacti were 
full of sharp thorns. 

“They’re fighting at El Caney, that’s certain,” 
remarked Ben to Peter Wilkens, as the two moved 
slowly forward on their knees under the shelter of 
a little knoll. The sounds of the distant firing 
reached them quite plainly. 

“ Yes, and I hope they’re waxin’ the Dons good,” 
replied the Yankee youth. “ Gee shoo ! git down, 
Ben, quick ! ” 

Ben threw himself flat, not knowing what was 
coming. High over his head shrieked a shrapnel 
shell. It burst -with great violence in a tree-top 
behind them, scattering the smaller shot in all di- 
rections and wounding several men. 

“ Thought that was a-comin’ straight for us,” 
gasped Peter, as he arose to his knees again, and 
he and Ben moved forward another ten yards. 

“ Listen ! ” cried Ben. The sounds of artillery 
much closer than El Caney had greeted his ears. 
Grimes’ battery had opened from El Pozo. The 
shots were directed at the large blockhouse on San 
Juan hill and at the intrencliments close by, which 
could be seen to be lined with Spanish troops. 


276 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


Soon an answering fire from the blockhouse and 
from another portion of the hill reached our bat- 
teries. The smoke from the American guns enabled 
the enemy to train their field-pieces well, and soon 
came a hail of shot and shell which brought many 
a man on the batteries to his end. But the artillery 
was undaunted and sent forth a hot fire in return, 
and all the while the infantry and cavalry crept 
closer and began forming for the final assault. 

This was the nerve-testing moment which men 
and officers alike dreaded. The shelter at hand 
was not worth mentioning, and soldier after soldier 
went down in a galling fire which could not, as yet, 
be returned. 

“ Oh ! ” The cry came from Casey, and Ben turned 
in time to see the gallant Irishman sink upon his 
knees. “I’m done fer, b’ys ! ” he moaned, and then 
fainted. Poor Casey was not killed, however, a 
bullet having passed through the calf of his leg. 
In a trice Ben, Stummer, and Wilkens had picked 
him up and were carrying him to the rear, where 
the ambulance corps took charge of him. More 
than anxious to fight, the patriotic Irishman had 
been cut down at the very opening of the bloody 
contest. 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


277 


By the time Ben got back to his position he 
found the company preparing to make a dash across 
an open bottom several hundred feet in width. In 
the centre of the bottom was placed the usual much- 
dreaded wire fence, fully seven feet high. That it 
would prove a death trap to many was known to 
all. Who should make the first assault? Captain 
Blank, already injured in the left hand, swung his 
sword on high. 

“Come, boys, that fence must be passed. Will 
you follow me ? ” 

“ Yes ! yes ! ” came back the cry. “ Come on ! 
Remember the Maine!" And away went the 
company on the double-quick, Ben in the front 
rank. No sooner had they started than the Span- 
ish opened fire, wounding several. But none of the 
others stopped. The fence gained, Ben vaulted 
over, the first soldier to clear it. Captain Blank 
followed, and the rest came pell-mell, some over and 
some under, as the wires were cut and ripped apart. 

“ Company, halt ! ” rang out the command. 

“ Take aim ! Fire ! ” And then and there Ben 

fired his first shot for Cuban liberty. Instantly 

the company reloaded, advanced five yards, and 

fired again. The smoke became thick, and but 


278 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


little was to be seen. They had gained a hedge at 
the foot of San Juan hill, and here they paused to 
catch their breath and load once more. 

“ Yer guns make too much smoke ! ” The growl 
came from a regular of the Sixteenth Infantry, and 
soon Ben found himself side by side with the troops 
of this regiment and of the Sixth, the volunteers 
and the regulars forming the centre of the attack- 
ing column. Not far away were the Rough Riders, 
pressing up the hill from another point. 

“ I can’t help the gun,” answered Ben ; “ it’s the 
best I’ve got.” 

“ Throw it away and take this, youngster,” went 
on the regular, and threw over the weapon of a 
dead comrade, along with the cartridge belt. “ The 
smoke yer makin’ is drawin’ the enemy’s fire right 
to us.” The regular told the truth, and presently 
some of the volunteers were forced to hold back 
through orders from the generals in charge. 

But Ben went on, his blood thoroughly warmed 
to the fight. He had seen Casey go down, and 
now Peter Wilkens followed, with a painful but 
not serious wound in his side. They were moving 
right up the side of a steep ascent, and the firing 
came down almost upon their heads. 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


279 


“ Charge, men, charge ! ” came the cry. “ Don’t 
stop ! The victory will soon be ours ! Charge ! ” 
And again they went on, another hundred feet, 
through a whistling storm of bullets. Everybody 
was now firing to suit himself, for no line could be 
kept on that hillside and the smoke hid friend and 
foe alike from view. 

“ Ben ! ” 

The cry came from his left, and looking over his 
shoulder the young volunteer caught sight of Frank 
Bulkley, rifle in hand, loading and firing as rapidly 
as he could. 

“ Frank ! What does this mean ! ” he ejacu- 
lated. “ Are you well ? Did they let you leave 
the hospital?” 

“ I ran away — I wasn’t going to stay there while 
the battle was on,” came the short answer. The 
young sergeant was deadly pale, and his legs fairly 
trembled beneath him. 

“But this is madness, Frank. You are sick, 
and — ” 

“ I can fight if I am sick, Ben. Come on ! 
Hurrah for Old Glory ! ” and Frank stumbled on. 

“He’s out of his head, — that’s all there is to it,” 
thought Ben. He wondered what he ought to do. 


280 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Hi, Stummer, come here ! ” he called out, as the 
German came into view. “ Here is Frank, as mad 
as a March hare and bound to fight. We ought to 
get him to the rear.” 

“ Frank ! Mine gracious, yes, he must go pack. 
Of he ton’t — He ist dead ! ” 

Stummer broke off short, for Frank had pitched 
forward suddenly upon his face. Both ran to him, 
to learn that he had fainted. 

“ Take him by the feet ; I’ll take him by the 
arms,” said Ben, quickly, and raising up the un- 
conscious youth they ran back towards the wire 
fence as fast as they could. Here there was a 
steady descent of shrapnel ; but, undaunted, they 
passed the barrier, and in five minutes more their 
companion had been turned over to the hospital 
corps. 

But in those five minutes the ground plan of 
the battle had shifted, and now it was next to 
impossible for Ben and Stummer to find their com- 
mand. “We’ll move to the right,” said the youth, 
and did, so, only to find himself in the very midst 
of a detachment of Rough Riders, who were forcing 
a charge nothing could resist. 

“To ‘the front ! To the front ! ” The command 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


281 


came from the idol of the Rough Riders. “Up, 
boys, and the victory is ours ! ” And a ringing 
cowboy yell followed, with the crash of musketry 
directly after. The soldiers on all sides were 
pressing onward, and Ben and Stummer went 
along, firing as rapidly as possible at the Span- 
iards, who were now plainly visible in their 
trenches. 

“ Ben, by all that’s glorious ! ” It was the voice 
of Gilbert, and the young Southerner came up, 
loading his gun as he moved. “And Stummer, 
too. Oh, but we’re having a fight now, aren’t 
we?” 

“ I should say so ! ” answered Ben, pausing to 
wipe the perspiration from his dripping brow. 
“It seems to me we’re having half a dozen bat- 
tles in one.” 

“That’s about the size of it, my boy. If we 
gain this hill, Santiago is doomed. Come on ! ” 
And he moved forward, with Ben and Stummer 
at his side. They were now among the rocks and 
stubble, and progress was necessarily slow. The 
firing line of the Spaniards, collected near the top 
of the hill, was over a mile in length, and this 
belched forth flame and death continually. Small 


282 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


wonder that San Juan was termed “ The Slaugh- 
ter Pen ” ! 

In no battle covered by American history had 
the officers been more to the front than in this 
struggle before Santiago. To the truth of this the 
long list of killed and wounded testifies. They 
were leaders in fact as well as in name, and by 
their personality urged the men under them on 
to victory. 

Presently Ben, Stummer, and Gilbert found them- 
selves in a slight depression, overshadowed by a 
jutting rock. Here they paused, to reload once 
again. Ben had just slipped a cartridge in the 
Krag- Jorgensen given him by the regular, when 
a deep groan startled him. Almost at his feet lay 
a wounded major of the regulars, shot through 
the side. 


“Water ! ” whispered the officer, hoarsely. “For 
the love of heaven, water ! ” 

“I’ll get you some, if it’s to be had,” answered 
Ben. He looked about, and seeing a tiny spring 
under an edge of the rock, ran to it and filled his 
tin cup. In the meantime Stummer and Gilbert 
propped the wounded man up and placed a tuft 
of soft grass behind his head. 


THE BATTLE OF SAN JUAN 


283 


As Ben turned back with the water he heard a 
bump, bump, on the rocks over the hollow, and 
the next instant a large, unexploded shell dropped 
close to the feet of the wounded officer. It rolled 
a few feet further, then settled tightly in a crevice 
between the stones. 

“ Dot’s loaded ! It’s going off ! ” yelled Stum- 
mer, and tumbled back with all possible haste. 
“ Safe yourself, Gilbert. Safe yourself, Pen ! ” 
And he grabbed the Southerner by the arm. 

Ben stood transfixed. Stummer was right; the 
shell was loaded, and the fuse was smoking at a 
lively rate. If it went off, it would kill them all, 
unless they managed to get out of the way. Ben 
gave a leap backward. Then he thought of the 
wounded officer, and came to a halt. 


CHAPTER XXIX 


BEN WINS HIS SHOULDER STRAPS 

“ I can’t leave him here to die ! ” 

Such was the thought which rushed through the 
young volunteer’s mind, as he glanced first at the 
wounded regular and then at the shell, now smoking 
and sizzing more lively than ever. In a few sec- 
onds more the shell would explode. 

u Save yourself ! ” yelled Gilbert. Then he too 
stood still, realizing the officer’s peril. In an in- 
stant he was beside the shell and trying to dis- 
lodge it. But the task was hopeless, and he followed 
Stummer to a safe distance. 

Ben saw him go and looked at the shell again. 
“We must carry the man off — ” he began, then 
turned suddenly with his cup of water. Could he 
do it? He must! He dropped on his knees and 
uttered a silent prayer to God for success. 

The fuse of the shell was still several inches long, 
but was rapidly growing less. Clutching it be- 
284 


BEN WINS HIS SHOULDER STRAPS 


285 


tween his fingers he sank it into the cnp of water 
and held it there. Would the water penetrate far 
enough? Holding his breath he waited, — a few 
seconds which to him in his agony of mind was an 
eternity. 

“ Is it — is it out ? ” The question came from the 
wounded officer, who had for the moment closed his 
eyes. 

Ben waited a few seconds longer. “ Yes, it’s out,” 
he answered in a hoarse whisper. 

“ Thank God ! ” 

The eyes of the two met, and no more was 
said. Soon Gilbert and Stummer came running up. 
“You’re the bravest man I ever saw, Ben !” cried 
the Southerner. “ What splendid nerve ! ” 

“ I couldn’t haf done dot, not me,” put in Stum- 
mer, with a vigorous shake of his head. “ It vos 
grand, Pen ; you deserve shoulder straps for dot. 
Ain’t dot so ? ” And the German volunteer turned 
to the regular. 

“ Yes — and he shall have them, if I can bring it 
about,” was the determined although weak reply. 
“ What is your name, lad ? ” 

“ Ben Russell, sir.” 

“ I am Major Starwell. The water, please.” The 


286 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


major took a deep drink. “ That makes me feel bet- 
ter. If you — ah, here come some of my own men 
now. Kindly call them.” 

The request was complied with, and soon the 
major of the regulars was being carried to the rear ; 
and then Ben and his companions hurried on, but 
with much more sober faces than before. 

The battle had now reached that point when suc- 
cess or failure seemed to hang upon a thread. The 
Americans, almost exhausted, had not yet reached 
the brow of the hill upon which the blockhouse was 
located. The Spaniards, also worn out, continued 
to fire, but with an unsteadiness which showed they 
were on the verge of breaking away. Hillside and 
trenches were thickly strewn with the dead and the 
dying. A decided assault on one side or the other 
would win the day. 

It was then that Brigadier-General Hawkins came 
to the front, aided by Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt, 
and many other officers, and urged the men as never 
before. “ You can do it, boys ! Charge ! charge ! ” 
was the cry. “ Hurrah for the Stars and Stripes ! 
Hurrah for Old Glory ! We are going in with you, 
boys 1 Come ! ” And the “ boys ” came, several 
thousand strong, firing as they climbed the last rise 



A Spaniard was in the Act of running him through Page 287 





BEN WINS HIS SHOULDER STRAPS 


28T 


of the hill, through a holocaust of flame, bullets, and 
shrapnel. Once they wavered, — as scores went 
down, — but only for a moment. Then on they 
swept, yelling, cheering, and singing, in a delirium 
of excitement no pen can describe. The first of the 
trenches were gained, victory was within their grasp. 
Somebody started that favorite which will never die : 

“The army and navy forever! 

Three cheers for the red, white, and blue ! ” 

A hundred voices joined in a chorus which even the 
rattle of musketry and the roars of cannon could 
not drown. Ben sang too, and fought the better 
for it. 

And then came that final assault upon the block- 
house, where steel met steel and guns were dis- 
charged at close range. The smoke was suffocating, 
and enemy and friend could scarcely be told apart. 
Ben, Gilbert, and Stummer kept close beside one 
another, but in a rush over the slippery grass, worn 
almost into a paste by thousands of feet, Ben fell 
flat on his back. Ere he could rise he found him- 
self confronted by a fierce-looking Spaniard, who, 
with bayonet fixed, was in the act of running him 
through. 


288 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ Don’t ! ” he cried, and tried to roll out of the 
way. But with a grin the Don pressed closer, until 
the point of the bayonet was within half a foot of 
Ben’s throat. Then came the crack of a rifle, and 
the Spaniard pitched to one side, shot through the 
back. 

“ Carl ! You saved my life ! ” burst from the 
young volunteer’s lips. 

“ I guess dot’s so,” muttered Stummer. “ Git up, 
kvick ! ” And he assisted Ben to rise. No more 
was said just then, yet the youth could not help but 
think of his narrow escape. “ How glad I am I 
jumped overboard for Carl when he was in danger of 
drowning in New York Bay,” he thought. 

Gilbert had gone to the very base of the block- 
house, where a dozen Rough Riders were fighting 
furiously, with an equal number of Spaniards, over 
the possession of one of the Dons’ flags. Crack ! 
bang ! went the guns, and click, clack ! the sabres, 
striking fire, and then the Spaniards set off on the 
retreat, following thousands already ahead of them. 

“ The blockhouse is abandoned ! ” What a cheer- 
ing and yelling went up ! The flag was down, and 
soon Old Glory floated proudly to the breeze. “ On 
to Santiago ! ” came the rallying cry, and the tired 


BEN WINS HIS SHOULDER STRAPS 


289 


troops pressed on, over the top of the hill, driving 
the enemy from one trench and shelter to another, 
until the whole of the hill was cleared. 

It had been a hard-earned victory, both at El 
Caney and at San Juan, and the losses were large, to 
the Americans, — 230 men killed, 1203 wounded, and 
many missing. The enemy’s losses were probably 
about the same. Twenty-two of our gallant officers 
had fallen to rise no more, and the Spanish com- 
manding officer, General Linares, had been seriously 
wounded and his second in command killed. A few 
of the Cubans had taken part in the contests, and 
they, too, had suffered. 

Although tired out, now was no time for rest- 
ing ; for the Spaniards, although routed, were not 
yet driven into Santiago. As soon as the victo- 
ries at El Caney and San Juan were assured, fresh 
troops from the rear were ordered up, and in- 
trenchments were dug wherever it appeared they 
might be of benefit. While this was in progress, 
the ambulance corps and the assistants of the Red 
Cross Society began the removal of the wounded, 
the majority being sent back to Siboney. Over 
these heart-rending scenes it is perhaps best I 
draw the curtain. 


290 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


The sun had gone down, red and dull, over the 
waters of Santiago Bay, and now the pale, cold 
moon arose, an emblem of peace and quiet. From 
the top of San Juan hill could be seen the far- 
away lights of Santiago, twinkling across a valley 
filled with mist, — the doomed city, as the soldiers 
told one another. Here and there, in the valley, 
could be seen the camp-fires of the defeated, burn- 
ing a sort of defiance to those on the hill -tops. 
On the morrow they would fight again, with the 
reenforcements which General Garcia’s Cuban 
guards had been unable to hold back. 

“My country, ’tis of thee, 

Sweet land of Liberty, 

Of thee I sing ! ” 

Soft but clear arose the song from one end of 
the trenches on the hills. One soldier after an- 
other, though worn and hungry, took it up, until 
nearly all were singing. And then the wounded, 
gazing up at the rising moon, so pure, so sweetly 
calm, joined in : — 

“ Land where my fathers died, 

Land of the Pilgrims’ pride, 

From every mountain side, 

Let freedom ring ! ” 


BEN WINS HIS SHOULDER STRAPS 


291 


Throughout the night the soldiers kept on sing- 
ing, only breaking off to swallow the rations which 
were presently brought to them, slim eating indeed, 
after such a fierce day’s work. Yet no one mur- 
mured if the hardtack was extra hard and the 
coffee muddy and half cold. They were heroes 
and thought only of the duty to be performed. 

Ben had received permission to go to the rear, 
to ascertain how Frank, Casey, and the others 
were doing. He found Frank asleep. “He’s 
in for a regular spell of it,” said the surgeon in 
charge. “He’ll be lucky if he escapes with his 
life. We’ll have to get him away from this cli- 
mate on the first hospital ship which goes north.” 
And so it was afterwards arranged, and Frank 
was taken first to Tampa and then sent home, 
where loving hands speedily nursed him back to 
health and strength. 

Casey looked haggard, but was cheerful. “ I 
don’t mind me wound, Ben,” he said. “It was 
all for the glory of the Stars an’ Stripes, ye know. 
Go in an’ lick ’em ! ” And then he turned away, to 
suppress a groan that had to come. 

Peter Wilkens had been shot in the hand, and 
was sitting around with that member in a sling. 


292 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


“ A dirty Don hit me with his Mauser,” he said. 
u The doctor said as how he guessed the knuckle 
was broken. But I don’t care — the Don got it 
in the side — I saw him fall. I reckon we’ll 
sweep ’em into the bay in a day or two.” And 
to forget his pain Peter began to walk around 
and whistle “ Yankee Doodle.” No one in that sick 
camp was going to show the “ white feather ” if 
he could help it. 

It was after midnight when Ben returned to the 
firing line. His heart was sick because of the awful 
scenes he had witnessed. Why should civilized 
nations go to war in this cruel fashion? he asked 
himself. Then he braced up and took a long 
breath. Now was no time to ask such questions. 
To-morrow the battle would be on again, and he 
must be prepared to do his duty. 


CHAPTER XXX 


“ ON TO SANTIAGO ! ” — CONCLUSION 

“Wake up, Carl; it’s time to get into fighting 
trim once more.” 

“Ach, Pen, vot yon vakes me for? I vos chust 
treamin’ of mine faderland — a peautiful tream apout 
yen I vent to school in Bremen,” answered Stummer, 
ruefully, as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. “ Vere 
ye vos, ennahow? Oh, I remember now! Is dem 
Spaniards coming?” And now the German volun- 
teer leaped up and grabbed his rifle. 

“No — not just yet,” laughed Ben. “But we 
might as well get a bite of breakfast before they 
do come — if it’s to be had,” concluded the youth. 

Stummer had fallen into a doze an hour before 
in spite of the singing and cheering. Now both 
left the intrenchments and started over to where 
the company’s cook was dealing out such provender 
as he possessed. “We ain’t dinin’ at Delmonico’s 
to-day, boys,” said Crowley, “but I’m reckoning 
293 


294 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


on serving you from one of the best hotels in 
Santiago before the week is out.” 

“ And you will ! ” came the cry. The soldiers 
took all they could get, and hurried back to their 
places to eat their early breakfast as opportunity 
afforded. 

It was soon learned that the enemy had not fled 
as far in the direction of Santiago as anticipated. 
Moreover, they had thrown up strong rifle pits 
during the night, and their reenforcements were 
being pushed to the front as rapidly as possible. 
More than this, Cervera’s fleet, lying before Santiago, 
had now obtained the range of the hills occupied 
by the Americans, and it began to pour in a more 
or less effective fire. 

A skirmish occurring at Aguadores between some 
Spanish infantry and our volunteers from Michigan, 
fresh troops that had just arrived, had resulted in 
something of a drawn battle ; and now the volun- 
teers were free to move towards San Juan, as were 
also some regulars who had been held in reserve. 

The fighting began early, but it was well towards 
noon before anything like a serious engagement 
was on. The fresh troops were forced to the front, 
and for a while Ben was compelled to rest, although 


“ ON TO SANTIAGO ! ” 


295 


eager for the fray. “ On to Santiago ! ” was the 
battle-cry. “ Hurrah for Uncle Sam ! On to 
Santiago ! ” and for several hours it looked as if 
our troops would certainly make a rush through 
the enemy’s lines, and gain entrance into the city. 
The troops from Michigan were now reenforced by 
others from their own state, and by the Ninth 
Massachusetts Volunteers, who had just arrived on 
transports from the United States. 

It was getting towards sundown when word was 
passed that the Spaniards were forming for some 
new move — what was not as yet exactly known. 
The fighting stopped for a short time, and every 
soldier lay down on guard. Soon the sun had dis- 
appeared, but the clear moon made the vast battle- 
field almost as bright as day. 

The shock came at ten o’clock, when the Spanish 
army, massed for the encounter, attempted to turn 
the American lines. Again broke forth that storm 
of shot and shell, and again the bullets whistled 
as thickly as hailstones. The savage attack lasted 
until midnight, when, utterly routed, the Spaniards 
began to fall back into the city, leaving their dead 
and dying behind them. They took to the side 
roads, where, under the trees and brush, it was 


296 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


impossible, even in the moonlight, to pursue them. 
Here and there a stand was made, and on the 
morning of the third of July desultory firing was 
indulged in, but the victory was ours, and the 
American forces pressed closer and closer, until 
Santiago was hemmed in from water’s edge to 
water’s edge. There is no doubt but that the city 
could have been taken within forty-eight hours. 
But this would have cost a tremendous loss of 
life, and rather than make such a needless sacri- 
fice, new intrenchments were thrown up, guns were 
put into place, and the doomed city was placed in 
a state of siege. On the 16th of July, 1898, it was 
surrendered to us, along with all the Cuban ter- 
ritory to the east of it, covering about 4000 square 
miles of territory and containing upward of 20,000 
Spanish troops, all of whom were compelled to 
throw down their arms. One day later Old Glory 
was run up on the flagstaff of Santiago’s civil 
government buildings; and the campaign came to 
an end in a blaze of glory. 

It is perhaps needless to say that Captain Blank 
was proud of the part his “boys” had played in 
the contest. “You did nobly — nobly,” he said. 
“You could not have done better.” 


“ ON TO SANTIAGO ! ” 


297 


It had become noised about that Ben had saved 
the life of a major of the regulars, and that some- 
thing had been said about shoulder straps. “He’ll 
get them — for he deserves them,” said Gilbert. 
And the Rough Rider was right. Major Starwell 
did not rest until Ben was privileged to don the 
shoulder straps of a second lieutenant. 

“ And he’ll go higher ; mark my words,” said the 
major. “ He’ll go higher. He’s a true soldier, 
every inch of him ! ” 

Here we must, for the time being, leave “ A 
Young Volunteer in Cuba.” We have followed 
Ben through the state and national camps, and 
through a number of adventures while “Fighting 
for the Single Star.” We have seen him face 
death bravely, and now that the fighting was over, 
the intrepid youth was not above descending to 
the dull monotony of life in the trenches, doing 
his duty as a soldier through fair weather or foul. 

As mentioned in a previous chapter, Ben’s brother 
Walter had, on the breaking out of the war, joined 
the navy. It had been Walter’s earnest desire to 
join Commodore Schley’s flagship, the Brooklyn, 
and this wish had been gratified. In another vol- 


29 $ 


A YOUNG VOLUNTEER IN CUBA 


ume, to be called “Fighting in Cuban Waters; Or, 
The Haps and Mishaps of a Young Gunner,” we 
shall see what part Walter played in “bottling up” 
Admiral’s Cervera’s fleet in Santiago Bay, and how 
gallantly the young gunner fought when the Span- 
ish warships endeavored to escape. In this volume 
we shall again meet Ben, and also Larry Russell, 
who has served so faithfully “ Under Dewey at 
Manila,” and likewise learn more concerning Job 
Dowling and his reformation and the mystery of 
the stolen heirlooms. Gilbert and our other friends 
Avill not be forgotten. 

And now let us shake Ben Russell by the hand, 
and wish him well. Life had still much in store 
for him, yet, come what might, it was not likely 
he would forget those stirring times when he joined 
the army and marched forth to become “ A Young 
Volunteer in Cuba.” 


THE BOUND TO SUCCEED SERIES 

By EDWARD STRATEHEYER, 

Author of “ Under Dewey at Manila,” etc. 

Three Volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.00. 


RICHARD DARE’S VENTURE Or Striking Out for 
Himself. 

OLIVER BRIGHT’S SEARCH Or The Mystery of 
a Mine. 

LARRY THE WANDERER Or The Ups and Downs 
of a Nobody. ( In press.) 


PRESS OPINIONS OF EDWARD STRATEMEYER S BOOKS FOR YOUNG 

PEOPLE. 

“ In * Richard Dare’s Venture,’ Edward Stratemeyer has fully sustained his repu- 
tation as an entertaining, helpful, and instructive writer for boys.” — Philadelphia 
Call. 

“ ‘ Richard Dare’s Venture,’ by Edward Stratemeyer, tells the story of a country 
lad who goes to New York to earn enough to support his widowed mother and 
orphaned sisters. Richard’s energy, uprightness of character, and good sense carry 
him through some trying experiences, and gain him friends.” — The Churchman, 
New York. 

“A breezy boy’s book is ‘ Oliver Bright’s Search.’ The author has a direct, graphic 
style, and every healthy minded youth will enjoy the volume.” — N. Y. Commercial 
A dvertiser. 

“ * Richard Dare’s Venture ’ is a fresh, wholesome book to put into a boy's hands.” 
— St. Louis Post Dispatch. 

“ * Richard Dare’s Venture ’ is a wholesome story of a practical boy who made a 
way for himself when thrown. upon his own resources.” — Christian Advocate. 

“It is such books as ‘Richard Dare’s Venture’ that are calculated to inspire 
young readers with a determination to succeed in life, and to choose some honorable 
walk in which to find that success. The author, Edward Stratemeyer, has shown a 
judgment that is altogether too rare in the makers of books for boys, in that he has 
avoided that sort of heroics in the picturing of the life of his hero which deals in 
adventures of the daredevil sort. In that respect alone the book commends itself to 
the favor of parents who have a regard for the education of their sons, but the story 
is sufficiently enlivening and often thrilling to satisfy the healthful desires of the 
young reader.” — Kansas City Star. 

“ Of standard writers of boys’ stories there is quite a list, but those who have not 
read any by Edward Stratemeyer have missed a very goodly thing.” — Boston Ideas. 


For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent, postpaid, on receipt of Price by 

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, 

BOSTON. 


THE SHIP AND SHORE SERIES 

By EDWARD STRATEMEYER. 

Three Volumes. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.00. 


THE LAST CRUISE OF THE SPITFIRE Or Luke 
Foster’s Strange Voyage. 

REUBEN STONE’S DISCOVERY Or The Young 
Miller of Torrent Bend. 

TRUE TO HIMSELF Or Roger Strong’s Struggle 
for Place. (In Press.) 


PRESS OPINIONS OF EDWARD STRATEMEYER’ S BOOKS FOR YOUNG 

PEOPLE. 

“ Mr. Edward Stratemeyer is in danger of becoming very popular among the 
young people of the country." — Burlington (Iowa) Hawk-eye. 

“ ‘ The Last Cruise of the Spitfire ’ is of deep interest to the bounding heart of an 
enthusiastic boy. The book leaves a good impression on a boy’s mind, as it teaches 
the triumph of noble deeds and true heroism.” — Kansas City (Mo.) Times. 

“ Let us mention in passing two admirable books for boys, ‘ Reuben Stone’s Dis- 
covery’ and ‘Oliver Bright’s Search,’ by Edward Stratemeyer, with whom we are 
all acquainted. This last bit of his work is especially good, and the boy who gets 
one of these volumes will become very popular among his fellows until the book is 
worn threadbare.” — N. Y. Herald. 

“ A good sea-tale for boys is ‘ The Last Cruise of the Spitfire/ by Edward Strate- 
meyer. There is plenty of adventure in it, a shipwreck, a cruise on a raft, and dther 
stirring perils of the deep.” — Detroit (Mich.) Journal. 

“ In a simple, plain, straightforward manner, Mr. Edward Stratemeyer endeavors 
to show his boy readers what persistency, honesty, and willingness to work have 
accomplished for his young hero, and his moral is evident. Mr. Stratemeyer is very 
earnest and sincere in his portraiture of young character beginning to shape itself to 
weather against the future. A book of this sort is calculated to interest boys, to feed 
their ambition with hope, and to indicate how they must fortify themselves against 
the wiles of vice.” — Boston Herald. 


For sale by all booksellers , or sent, Postpaid, on receipt of price by 

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, 

BOSTON. 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


All-Over-tlie- World Library. By Oliver Optic. First Series. 
Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. A Missing Million; or, The Adventures of Louis Belgrade. 

2. A Millionaire at Sixteen ; or, The Cruise of the “ Guardian 

Mother.” 

3. A Young Knight Errant; or, Cruising in the West Indies. 

4. Strange Sights Abroad ; or, Adventures in European Waters. 

No author has come before the public during the present generation who 
has achieved a larger and more deserving popularity among young people than 
“ Oliver Optic.” His stories have been very numerous, but they have been 
uniformly excellent in moral tone and literary quality. As indicated in the 
general title, it is the author’s intention to conduct the readers of this enter- 
taining series “ around the world.” As a means to this end, the hero of the 
story purchases a steamer which he names the “ Guardian Mother,” and 
with a number of guests she proceeds on her voyage. — Christian IVorfc, JV. Y. 


All-Over-the- World Library. By Oliver Optic. Second 
Series. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. American Boys Afloat; or, Cruising in the Orient. 

2. The Young Navigators ; or, The Foreign Cruise of the 

“ Maud.” 

3. TJp and Down the Nile ; or, Young Adventurers in Africa. 

4. Asiatic Breezes ; or, Students on the Wing. 

The interest in these stories is continuous, and there is a great variety of 
exciting incident woven into the solid information which the book imparts so 
generously and without the slightest suspicion of dryness. Manly boys 
will welcome this volume as cordially as they did its predecessors. — Boston 
Gazette. 


All-Over-tbe- World Library, By Oliver Optic. Third Se- 
ries. Illustrated. Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. Across India ; oft, Live Boys in the Far East. 

2. Half Round the World; or, Among the Uncivilized. 

3. Four Young Explorers; or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics. 

4. Pacific Shores ; or, Adventures in Eastern Seas. 

Amid such new and varied surroundings it would be surprising indeed if the 
author, with his faculty of making even the commonplace attractive, did not 
tell an intensely interesting story of adventure, as well as give much informa- 
tion in regard to the distant countries through which our friends pass, and 
the strange peoples with whom they are brought in contact. This book, and 
indeed the whole series, is admirably adapted to reading aloud in the family 
circle, each volume containing matter which will interest all the members of 
the family. — Boston Budget. 

LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE, 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


The Way of the World. By Oliver Optic. Illustrated. 
$1.50. 

“ One of the most interesting American novels we have ever read.” — Phila- 
delphia City Item . 

“ This story treats of a fortune of three million dollars left a youthful heir. 
The volume bears evidence in every chapter of the fresh, original, and fascinat- 
ing style which has always enlivened Mr. Adams’ productions. We have the 
same felicitous manner of working out the plot by conversation, the same 
quaint wit and humor, and a class of characters which stand out boldly, pen 
photographs of living beings. 

“ The book furnishes a most romantic and withal a most instructive illustra- 
tion of the way of the world in its false estimate of money.” 

Living 1 too Fast ; OR, the Confessions of a Bank Officer. 
By Oliver Optic. Illustrated. $1-50. 

This story records the experience of a bank officer in the downward career of 
crime. The career ought, perhaps, to have ended in the State’s prison; but 
the author chose to represent the defaulter as sharply punished in another way. 
The book contains a most valuable lesson; and shows, in another leading 
character, the true life which a young business man ought to lead. 

In Doors and Out ; or, Views from a Chimney Corner. By 
Oliver Optic. Illustrated. $1.50. 

“ Many who have not time and patience to wade through a long story will 
find here many pithy and sprightly tales, each sharply hitting some social 
absurdity or social vice. We recommend the book heartily after having read 
the three chapters on ‘Taking a Newspaper.” If all the rest are as sensible 
and interesting as these, and doubtless they are, the book is well worthy of 
patronage.” — Vermont Record. 

“As a writer of domestic stories, Mr. William T. Adams (Oliver Optic) 
made his mark even before he became so immensely popular through his 
splendid books for the young. In the volume before us are given several of 
these tales, and they comprise a book which will give them a popularity greater 
than they have ever before enjoyed. They are written in a spirited style, 
impart valuable practical lessons, and are of the most lively interest.” — Boston 
Home Journal. 

Our Standard Bearer. A Life of Gen. U. S. Grant. By 
Oliver Optic. Illustrated by Thomas Nast. Illuminated 
covers, $1.50. 

It has long been out of print, but now comes out in a new edition, with a. 
narrative of the civil career of the General as President for two terms, his 
remarkable journey abroad, his life in New York, and his sickness, death, and 
burial. Perhaps the reader will remember that the narrative is told by 
“ Captain Galligasken ” after a style that is certainly not common or tiresome, 
but, rather, in a direct, simple, picturesque, and inspiring way that wins the 
heart of the young reader. For the boy who wants to read the life of General 
Grant, this book is the best that has been published, — perhaps the only one 
that is worth any consideration. 

Just His Luck. By Oliver Optic. Illustrated. $1.00. 

“ It deals with real flesh and blood boys; with boys who possess many noble 
qualities of mind ; with boys of generous impulses and large hearts ; with boys 
who delight in playing pranks, and who are ever ready for any sort of mischief; 
and with boys in whom human nature is strongly engrafted. They are boys, 
as many of us have been; boys in the true, unvarnished sense of the word; 
boys with hopes, ideas, and inspirations, but lacking in judgment, self-control, 
and discipline. And the book contains an appropriate moral, teaches many a 
lesson, and presents many a precept worthy of being followed. It is a capital 
book for boys.” 


LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


TliO Great Western Series. By Oliver Optic. In six vol- 
umes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per 
volume, $1.25. 

1. Goins West; or, The Perils of a Poor Boy. 

2. Out West; or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes. 

3. Lake Breezes; or, The Cruise of the Sylvania. 

4. Going South; or, Yachting on the Atlantic Coast. 

5. Down South; or, Yacht Adventures in Florida. 

6. Up the River; or, Yachting on the Mississippi. 

“ This is the latest series of books issued by this popular writer, and deals 
with life on the Great Lakes, for which a careful study was made by the author 
in a summer tour of the immense water sources of America. The story, which 
carries the same hero through the six books of the series, is always entertain- 
ing, novel scenes and varied incidents giving a constantly changing yet always 
attractive aspect to the narrative. Oliver Optic has written nothing better.’* 

The Yacht Club Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
$1.25. 

1. Little Bobtail; or, The Wreck of the Penobscot. 

2 . The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat Builders. 

3. Money-Maker; or, The Viqtory of the Basilisk. 

4. The Coming Wave; or, The Treasure of High Rock. 

5. The Dorcas Club; or, Our Girls Afloat. 

6. Ocean Born; or, The Cruise of the Clubs. 

“ The series has this peculiarity, that all of its constituent volumes are inde. 
pendent of one another, and therefore each. story is complete in itself. Oliver 
Optic is, perhaps, the favorite author of the boys and girls of this country, and 
he seems destined to enjoy an endless popularity. He deserves his success, 
for he makes very interesting stories, and inculcates none but the best senti- 
ments, and the ‘Yacht Club’ is no exception to this rule.” — New Haven 
Journal and Courier. 

Onward and Upward Series. By Oliver Optic. In six 
volumes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price 
per volume, $1.25. 

1. Field and Forest; or, The Fortunes of a Farmer. 

2 . Plane and Plank; or, The Mishaps of a Mechanic. 

3. Desk and Debit; or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk. 

4. Cringle and Crosstree; or, The Sea Swashes of a Sailor. 

5. Bivouac and Battle; or, The Struggles of a Soldier. 

6. Sea and Shore; or, The Tramps of a Traveller. 

“Paul Farringford, the hero of these tales, is, like most of this author’s 
heroes, a young man of high spirit, and of high aims and correct principles, 
appearing in tne different volumes as a farmer, a captain, a bookkeeper, a 
soldier, a sailor, and a traveller. In all of them the hero meets with very 
exciting adventures, told in the graphic style for which the author is famous.” 

The Lake Shore Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
$1.25. 

1. Through by Daylight; or, The Young Engineer of the Lake 

Shore Railroad. 

2 . Lightning Express; or, The Rival Academies. 

3. On Time; or, The Young Captain of the Ucayga Steamer. 

4. Switch Off; or, The War of the Students. 

5. Brake Up; or, The Young Peacemakers. 

6. Bear and Forbear; or, The Young Skipper of Lake Ucayga. 

“ Oliver Optic is one of the most fascinating writers for youth, and withal 
one of the best to be found in this or any past age. Troops of youn^ people 
hang over his vivid pages ; and not one of them ever learned to be mean, ignoble, 
cowardly, selfish, or to yield to any vice from anything they ever read from his 
pen.” — Providence Press. 

LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


Army and Navy Stories. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. 
Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
$1.25. 

1. The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army. 

2. The Sailor Boy; or, Jack Somers in the Navy. 

3. The Young Lieutenant; or, Adventures of an Army Officer. 

4. The Yankee Middy; or, Adventures of a Navy Officer. 

5. Fighting Joe; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer. 

6. Brave Old Salt; or, Life on the Quarter Deck. 

“This series of six volumes recounts the adventures of two' brothers, Tom 
and Jack Somers, one in the army, the other in the navy, in the great Civil War. 
The romantic narratives of the fortunes and exploits of the brothers are thrill- 
ing in the extreme. Historical accuracy in the recital of the great events of 
that period is strictly followed, and the result is, not only a library of entertain- 
ing volumes, but also the best history of the Civil War for young people ever 
written.” 


Boat Builders Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
$1.25. 

1. All Adrift; or, The Goldwing Club. 

2. Snug Harbor; or, The Champlain Mechanics. 

3. Square and Compasses; or, Building the House. 

4. Stem to Stern; or, Building the Boat. 

5. All Taut; or, Rigging the Boat. 

6. Beady About; or, Sailing the Boat. 

“ The series includes in six successive volumes the whole art of boat building, 
boat rigging, boat managing, and practical hints to make the ownership of a 
boat pay. A great deal of useful information is given in this Boat Builders 
Series, and in ^ach book a very interesting story is interwoven with the infor- 
mation. Every reader will be interested at once in Dory, the hero of ‘All 
Adrift,’ and one of the characters retained in the subsequent volumes of the 
series. His friends will not want to lose sight of him, and every boy who 
makes his acquaintance in * All Adrift ’ will become his friend.” 


Riverdale Story Books. By Oliver Optic. Twelve vol- 
umes. Illustrated. Illuminated covers. Price: cloth, per 
set, $3.60; per volume, 30 cents; paper, per set, $2.00. 


1. Little Merchant. 7. 

2. Young Voyagers. 8. 

3. Christmas Gift. 9. 

4. Dolly and I. 10. 

5. Uncle Ben. 11. 

6. Birthday Party. 12. 


Proud and Lazy. 
Careless Kate. 
Robinson Crusoe, Jr. 
The Picnic Party. 
The Gold Thimble. 
The Do-Somethings. 


Riverdale Story Books. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. 
Illustrated. Fancy cloth and colors. Price per volume, 30 
cents. 


1. Little Merchant. 

2. Proud and Lazy. 
8. Young Voyagers. 


4. Careless Kate. 

5. Dolly and I. 

6. Robinson Crusoe, Jr. 


Flora Lee Library. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. Illus- 
trated. Fancy cloth and colors. Price per volume, 30 
cents. 

1. The Picnic Party. 4. Christmas Gift. 

2. The Gold Thimble. 5. Uncle Ben. 

3. The Do- Somethings. 6. Birthday Party. 

These are bright short stories for younger children who are unable to com 
prehend the Starry Flag Series or the Army and Navy Series. But they 
all display the author’s talent for pleasing and interesting the little folks. They 
are all fresh and original, preaching no sermons, but inculcating good lessons. 


LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FRFF. 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


The Famous Boat Club Series. By Oliver Optic. Six 
volumes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price 
per volume $1.25. 

1. The Boat Cluh ; or, The Bunkers of Ripfleton. 

2. All Aboard ; or, Life on the Lake. 

3. Now or Never; or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright. 

4. Try Again ; or, The Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. 

5. Poor and Proud; or, The Fortunes of Katy Redburn. 

0. Tittle by Tittle ; or, The Cruise of the Flyaway. 

“ This is the first series of books written for the young by Oliver Optic. 
It laid the foundation for his fame as the first of authors in which the young 
delight, and gained for him the title of the Prince of Story Tellers. The six 
books are varied in incident and plot, but all are entertaining and original.” 

(1 Other volumes in preparation.) 

Young America Abroad: A Library of Travel and 
Adventure in Foreign Lands. By Oliver Optic. Illus- 
trated by Nast and others. First Series. Six volumes. 
Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. Outward Bound; or, Young America Afloat. 

2. Shamrock and Thistle; or, Young America in Ireland and 

Scotland. 

3. Red Cross; or, Young America in England and Wales. 

4. Dikes and Ditches; or, Young America in Holland and 

Belgium. 

5. Palace and Cottage; or, Young America in France and 

Switzerland. 

6. Down the Rhine; or, Young America in Germany. 

“The story from its inception, and through the twelve volumes (see Second 
Series), is a bewitching one, while the information imparted concerning the 
countries of Europe and the isles of the sea is not only correct in every particu- 
lar, but is told in a captivating style. Oliver Optic will continue to be the 
boys’ friend, and his pleasant books will continue to be read by thousands of 
American boys. What a fine holiday present either or both series of ‘ Young 
America Abroad ’ would be for a young friend ! It would make a little library 
highly prized by the recipient, and would not be an expensive one.” — Provi- 
dence Press. 

Young America Abroad. By Oliver Optic. Second Series. 
Six volumes. Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. 
Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. Up the Baltic; or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and 

Denmark. 

2 . Northern Lands; or, Young America in Russia and Prussia. 

3. Cross and Crescent; or, Young America in Turkey and Greece. 

4. Sunny Shores; or, Young America in Italy and Austria. 

5. Vine and Olive; or, Young America in Spain and Portugal. 

6. Isles of the Sea; or, Young America Homeward Bound. 

“ Oliver Optic is a nom de plume that is known and loved by almost every 
boy of intelligence in the land. We have seen a highly intellectual and world- 
weary man, a cynic whose heart was somewhat embittered by its large experi- 
ence of human nature, take up one of Oliver Optic’s books, and read it at a 
sitting, neglecting his work in yielding to the fascination of the pages. When 
a mature and exceedingly well-informed mind, long despoiled of all its fresh, 
ness, can thus find pleasure in a book for boys, no additional words of recom- 
mendation are needed .” — Sunday Times. 


LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


OLIVER OPTIC’S BOOKS 


The Blue and the Gray — Afloat. By Oliver Optic. Six 

volumes. Illustrated. Beautiful binding in blue and gray, 
with emblematic dies. Cloth. Any volume sold separately. 
Brice per volume, $1.50. 


1. Taken by the Enemy. 

2. Within the Enemy’* Line*. 

3. On the Blockade. 


4. Stand by the Union. 

5. Fighting for the Right, 

6. A A r ictoriou* Union. 


The Blue and the Gray — on Band. 

1. Brother against Brother. 3. A Eieutenant at Eighteen. 
<1, In the Saddle. 4. On the Staff. 

5. At the Front. 

( Volume Six in preparation .) 

“ There never has been a more interesting writer in the field of juvenile 
literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who, under his well-known pseudonym, is 
known and admired by every bov and girl in the country, and by thousands 
who have long since passed the boundaries of youth, yet who remember with 
pleasure tke genial, interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct, and 
entertain their younger years. ‘The Blue and the Gray’ is a title that is suf- 
ficiently indicative of the nature and spirit of the latest series, while the name 
of Oliver Optic is sufficient warrant of the absorbing style of narrative. This 
series is as bright and entertaining as any work that Mr. Adams has yet put 
forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that has borne his name. It would 
not be fair to the prospective reader to deprive him of the zest which comes 
from the unexpected by entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, how- 
ever, should be said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding, 
which makes it a most attractive volume.’’ — Boston Budget. 

Woodville Stories. By Oliver Optic. Six volumes. Illus- 
trated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, $1.25. 

1. Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant. 

2. In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. 

3. Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives. 

4. Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. 

5. Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant among the Indians 

6. Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain. 

“Though we are not so young as we once were, we relished these stories 
almost as much as the boys and girls for whom they were written. They we'e 
really refreshing, even to us. There is much in them which is calculated la 
inspire a generous, healthy ambition, and to make distasteful all reading tend- 
ing to stimulate base desires.” — Fitchburg Reveille. 

The Starry Flag* Series. By Oliver Optic. In six volumes. 
Illustrated. Any volume sold separately. Price per volume, 
$1.25. • 

1. The Starry Flag; or, The Young Fisherman of Cape Ann. 

2. Breaking Away; or, The Fortunes of a Student. 

3. Seek and Find; or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy. 

4. Freaks of Fortune; or, Half round the World. 

5. Make or Break; or, The Rich Man’s Daughter. 

6. Down the River; or, Buck Bradford and the Tyrants. 

“ Mr. Adams, the celebrated and popular writer, familiarly known as Oliver 
Optic, seems to have inexhaustible funds for weaving together the virtues of 
life; and, notwithstanding he has written scores of books, the same freshness 
and novelty run through them all. Some people think the sensational element 
predominates. Perhaps it does. But a book fbr young people needs this, and 
so long as good sentiments are inculcated such books ought to be read.” 

LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


LEE AND SHHARD’S ILLUSTRATED JUVENILES 


J. T. TROWBRIDGE’S BOOKS 


\ 


THE START IN EIFE SERIES. 4 volume*. 

A Start in Life: A Story of the Genesee Country. By 
J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.00. 

In this story the author recounts the hardships of a young lad in his first 
endeavor to start out for himself. It is a tale that is full of enthusiasm and 
budding hopes. The writer shows how hard the youths of a century ago were 
compelled to work. This he does in an entertaining way, mingling fun and 
adventures with their daily labors. The hero is a striking example of the 
honest boy, who is not too lazy to work, nor too dull to thoroughly appreciate 
a joke. 

Biding" His Time. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.00. 

“ It is full of spirit and adventure, and presents a plucky hero who was willing 
to ‘ bide his time,’ no matter how great the expectations that he indulged in 
from his uncle’s vast wealth, which he did not in the least covet. . . . He was 
left a poor orphan in Ohio at seventeen years of age, and soon after heard of a 
rich uncle, 'who lived near Boston. He sets off on the long journey to Boston, 
finds his uncle, an eccentric old man, is hospitably received by him, but seeks 
employment in a humble way, and proves that he is a persevering and plucky 
young man.” — Boston Home Journal. 

The Kelp Gatherers: A Story of the Maine Coast. By 
J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.00. 

This book is full of interesting information upon the plant life of the sea- 
shore, and the life of marine animals; but it is also a bright and readable 
story, with all the hints of character and the vicissitudes of human life, in 
depicting which the author is an acknowledged master. 

The Scarlet Tanager, and Other Bipeds. By J. T. 
Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.00. 

Every new story which Mr. Trowbridge begins is followed through succes- 
sive chapters by thousands who have read and re-read many times his preceding 
tales. One of his greatest charms is his absolute truthfulness. H® does not 
depict little saints, or incorrigible rascals, but just boys. This same fidelity to 
nature is seen in his latest book, “The Scarlet Tanager, and Other Bipeds.” 
There is enough adventure in this tale to commend it to the liveliest reader, 
and all the lessons it teaches are wholesome. 


LEE AND SHEPARD. BOSTON. SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


J. T. TROWBRIDGE’S BOOKS 


THE TOBY T II AFFORD SERIES. 3 volumes. 

The Fortunes of Toby Trafford. By J. T. Trowbridge. 
Illustrated. $1.25. 

“If to make children’s stories as true to nature as the stories which the 
masters of fiction write for children of a larger growth be an uncommon 
achievementXand one that is worthy of wide recognition, that recognition 
should be given to Mr. J. T. Trowbridge for his many achievements in this 
difficult walk of literary art. Mr. Trowbridge has a good perception of 
character, which he draws with skill; he has abundance of invention, which he 
never abuses; and he has, what so many American writers have not, an easy, 
graceful style, which can be humorous, or pathetic, or poetic.” — R. H. Stoddard 
i7i New York Mail. 

Father Brighthopes : An Old Clergyman’s Vacation. By 
J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

This book was published in the early fifties by Phillips, Sampson & Co., of 
which firm Mr. Lee (of Lee and Shepard) was then a member. It was very 
favorably received, and was followed by other stories, — a long series of them, 
— still lengthening, and which, it is hoped, may be prolonged indefinitely. 
Recently a new edition has appeared, and for a preface the author has related 
with touching simplicity the account of his first experience in authorship. 

It is well known that Mr. Trowbridge is primarily a poet. Some beautiful 
poems of his were printed in the early numbers of the Atlantic Monthly (in 
company with poems by Longfellow, Emerson, Lowell, and Holmes), 
and were well received. “At Sea” is a gem that has become classic. The 

E oetic faculty has not been without use to the story -writer. The perception of 
eauty in nature and in human nature is always evident even in his realistic 
prose. But his poetic gift never leads him into sentimentality, and his char- 
acters are true children of men, with natural faults as well as natural gifts and 
graces. His stories are intensely human , with a solid basis, and with an 
instinctive dramatic action. Pie has never written an uninteresting book. 

Woodie Thorpe’s Pilgrimage, and other Stories. By 
J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

“ The scenes are full of human interest and lifelikeness, and will please many 
an old reader, as well as the younger folks for whose delectation it is intended. 
As in all the books of this author the spirit is manly, sincere, and in the best 
sense moral There is no ‘ goody ’ talk and no cant, but principles of 
truthfulness, integrity, and self-reliance are quietly inculcated by example. 
It is safe to say that any boy will be the better for reading books like this.” 
— St. Botolpli. 


Neighbors’ Wives. By J. T. Trowbridge. Cloth. $1.50. 

As a novelty, the following acrostic is presented. The praise from the dif- 
ferent newspapers is brief, but to the point. 

N ot in the least tiresome. — Troy Press. 

E xquisite touches of character. — Salein Observer. 

I ntroducing strong scenes with rare skill. — Gloucester Telegraph. 

G roups well certain phases of character. — New Bedford Stafidard. 

H appy sprightliness of style and vivacity which fascinates — Dover Legion. 
B y many considered the author’s best. — Journal. 

0 ne of the best of Trowbridge’s stories. — Co7timonwealth. 

R eader finds it difficult to close the book. — Hearth and Home. 

S toryall alive with adventures and incidents striking and vivid. — Dover Star. 

W hich is one of Trowbridge’s brightest and best. — Bosto/i Trayiscript. 

1 s destined to be enjoyed mightily. — Salem Observer. 

V ery pleasant reading. — New York Leader. 

E xcels any of the author’s former books. — Montana American . 

S tory is in the author’s best vein. — New Haven Register. 

LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE. 


J. T. TROWBRIDGE’S BOOKS 


THE TIDE-MILE STORIES. G volumes, 

Phil and His Friends. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. 
$1.25. 

The hero is the son of a man who from drink got into debt, and, after having 

g iven a paper to a creditor authorizing him to keep the son as a security for 
is claim, ran away, leaving poor Phil a bond Slave. The story involves a 
great many unexpected incidents, some of which are painful, and some comic. 
Phil manfully works for a year, cancelling his father’s debt, and then escapes. 
The characters are strongly drawn, and the story is absorbingly interesting. 

The Tinkham Brothers* Tide-Mill. By J. T. Trowbridge. 
Illustrated. $1.25. 

“ The Tinkham Brothers ” were the devoted sons of an invalid mother. The 
story tells how they purchased a tide-mill, which afterwards, by the ill-will and 
obstinacy of neighbors, became a source of much trouble to them. It tells also 
how, by discretion and the exercise of a peaceable spirit, they at last overcame 
all difficulties. 

“Mr. Trowbridge’s humor, his fidelity to nature, and story-telling power 
lose nothing with years; and he stands at the head of those who are furnishing 
a literature for the young, clean and sweet in tone, and always of interest and 
value.” — The Continent. 

The Satin-wood Box. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. 
$1.25. 

“ Mr. Trowbridge has always a purpose in his writings, and this time he 
has undertaken to show how very near an innocent boy can come to the guilty 
edge and yet be able by fortunate circumstances to rid himself of all suspicion 
of evil. There is something winsome about the hero; but he has a singular 
way of falling into bad luck, although the careful reader will never feel the 
least disposed to doubt his honesty. ... It is the pain and perplexity which 
impart to the story its intense interest.” — Syracuse Standard. 

The Little Master. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

This is the story of a schoolmaster, his trials, disappointments, and final 
victory. It will recall to many a man his experience in teaching pupils, and 
in managing their opinionated and self-willed parents. The story has the 
charm which is always found in Mr. Trowbridge’s works. 

“ Many a teacher could profit by reading of this plucky little schoolmaster.” 
— Journal of Education. 

His One Fault. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

“As for the hero of this story, ‘His One Fault’ was absent-mindedness. He 
forgot to lock his uncle’s stable door, and the horse was stolen. In seeking to 
recover the stolen horse, he unintentionally stole another. In trying to restore 
the wrong horse to his rightful owner, he was himself arrested. After no end 
of comic and dolorous adventures, he surmounted all his misfortunes by down- 
right pluck and genuine good feeling. It is a noble contribution to juvenile 
literature.” — Woman's Journal. 

Peter Budstone. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

“ Trowbridge’s other books have been admirable and deservedly popular, 
but this one, in our opinion, is the best yet. It is a story at once spirited and 
touching, with a certain dramatic and artistic quality that appeals to the literary 
sense as well as to the story-loving appetite. In it Mr. Trowbridge has not 
lectured or moralized or remonstrated ; he has simply shown boys what they 
are doing when they contemplate hazing. By a good artistic impulse we are 
not shown the hazing at all; when the story begins, the hazing is already over, 
and we are introduced immediately to the results. It is an artistic touch also 
that the boy injured is not hurt because he is a fellow of delicate nerves, but be- 
cause of his very strength, and the power with which he resisted until overcome 
by numbers, and subjected to treatment which left him insane. His insanity 
takes the form of harmless delusion, and the absurdity of his ways and talk 
•nables the author to lighten the sombreness without weakening the moral, in 
away that ought to win all boys to his side.” — The Critic. 

LEE AND SHEPARD, BOSTON, SEND THEIR COMPLETE CATALOGUE FREE 


J. T. TROWBRIDGE’S BOOKS 


THE SILVER MEDAL, STORIES. 6 volumes. 

The Silver Medal, and Other Stories. By J. T. Trow-., 
bridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

There were some schoolboys who had turned housebreakers, and among their 
plunder was a silver medal that had been given to one John Harrison by the 
Hmnane Society for rescuing from drowning a certain Benton Barry. Now 
Benton Barry was one of the wretched housebreakers. This is the summary 
of the opening chapter. The story is intensely interesting in its serious as 
well as its humorous parts. 

His Own Master. ByJ. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

“ This is a book after the typical boy’s own heart. Its hero is a plucky young 
fellow, who, seeing no chance for himself at home, determines to make his own 
way in the world. . . . He sets out accordingly, trudges to the far West, and 
finds the road to fortune an unpleasantly rough one.” — Philadelphia Inquirer. 

“ We class this as one of the best stories for boys we ever read. The tone is 
perfectly healthy, and the interest is kept up to the end.” — Boston Home 
Journal. 

Bound in Honor. ByJ. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

This story is of a lad, who, though not guilty of any bad action, had been an. 
•■ye-witness of the conduct of his comrades, and felt “ Bound in Honor” not 
to tell. 

“ The glimpses we get of New England character are free from any distor 
tion, and their humorous phases are always entertaining. Mr. Trowbridge’s 
brilliant descriptive faculty is shown to great advantage in the opening chapter 
of the book by a vivid picture of a village fire, and is manifested elsewhere with 
equally telling effect.” — Boston Courier. 

The Pocket Rifle. By J. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

‘‘A boy’s story which will be read with avidity, as it ought to be, it is so 
brightly and frankly written, and with such evident knowledge of the tempera- 
ments and habits, the friendships and enmities of schoolboys.” — New York 
Mail. 

‘‘This is a capital story for boys. 'Trowbridge never tells a story poorly. 

It teaches honesty, integrity, and friendship, and how best they can be pro- 
moted. It shows the danger of hasty judgment and circumstantial evidence; 
that right-doing pays, and dishonesty never.” — Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

The jolly Rover. ByJ. T. Trowbridge. Illustrated. $1.25. 

“ This book will help to neutralize the ill effects of any poison which children 
may have swallowed in the way of sham -adventurous stories and wildly fictitious 
tales. ‘The Jolly Rover’ runs away from home, and meets life as it is, till he 
is glad enough to seek again his father’s house. Mr. Trowbridge has the 
power of making an instructive story absorbing in its interest, and of covering 
a moral so that it is easy to take.” — Christian Intelligencer. 

Young" Joe, and Other Boys. ByJ. T. Trowbridge. Illus- 
trated. $1.25. 

“Young Joe,” who lived at Bass Cove, where he shot wild ducks, took some 
to town for sale, and attracted the attention of a portly gentleman fond of shoot- 
ing. This gentleman went duck shooting with Joe, and their adventures were 
more amusing to the boy than to the amateur sportsman. 

There are thirteen other short stories in the book which will be sure to please 
the young folks. ' 


The Vagabonds : An Illustrated Poem. By J. T. Trow- 
bridge. Cloth. $1.50. 

“ The Vagabonds ” are a strolling fiddler and his dog. The fiddler has been 
ruined by drink, and his monologue is one of the most pathetic and effective 
-pieces in our literature. 

LEE YW* SEN ° 7IIE!R C0MPLETE CATAL0GUE FREE ‘ 














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